BRARY OF CONGRESS, 







UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Cure of Disease Simplified. 



A Modern Vade Me cum for the 



Household, 



—by- 



Mary Ries Melendy. 



"Simplicity is the Seat of Wisdom." 



1893. 



( WAV 4 1093 



<^si 






COPYRIGHT, 1893, 
-by- 
Mary Ries Melendy, M. D. 

All Rights Reserved. 



PUBLISHED BYETHE 

GUIDING STAR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 

59 WABASH AVE., CHICAGO. 



TO 

my Sons and Daughters, 

AND TO 

THE THINKING CLASS OF MEN AND WOMEN 

WHO MEASURE AND WEIGH THOUGHTS AS THEY DO MATERIAL 

THINGS; ALSO TO THAT VAST NUMBER WHO ARE 

LOOKING FOR A SaVlOT TO LEAD THEM OUT OF DOUBT, 

DARKNESS AND DESPAIR, 

This Book is Affectionately Inscribed. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 

Painless Childbirth Prophesied Fifty Years Ago by the 
Most Eminent Physicians — What Mrs. Elizabeth Cady 
Stanton Says — Grandeur of Motherhood — Advan- 
tages of a Mixed Diet — Abrupt Changes should be 
Avoided — Animal Food a Matter of Education — Diet 
for the Excessively Lean or Fat — Excessive Appetites 
should be Controlled — Practice of Deep Breathing 
During Months of Gestation — A System Born of Na- 
ture — No Exhaustion After Delivery — Deep Breath- 
ing Produces Pressure without Pain — Age no Hind- 
rance to an Easy and Natural Delivery — Dawning of 
a Happy Era for Motherhood — Fear in the Mind of 
Patient or Physician Must be Avoided — Criminals 
made in the Womb — Music During Pregnancy — A 
Word to Husbands — Wife's Privacy should be Sacred 
During Pregnancy. 1-38 

CHAPTER II. 

EDUCATION OF INFANTS. 

A Prey to Wayward Influence — Infant Mind not a Blank 
— Contact with the Mother the Foundation of Every 
Future Idea — How to Bathe the Baby — Unsightly 
Objects should be Kept from View. . . . 39-43 

CHAPTER III. 

CARE OF CHILDREN DURING DENTITION. 

Duties of Motherhood — Our Modern System of Education 
— A few Simple Medicines for Common Ailments — An 
Ounce of Prevention Worth a Pound of Cure — Simple 



CONTENTS. V 

PAGE 

and Nutritious Foods — Proper Clothing — Care of the 
Feet — Prevalence of Weakness of the Bladder Among 
Children — A Mother's Impressions Generally a Safe 
Guide — Fine Intuitions Belong More Especially to 
Woman — Dentition not Complete until Second Teeth 
Have Appeared 43-49 

CHAPTER IV. 

HINTS ON DIGESTION. 

The Food we Eat — Common Belief that the Stomach 
Contains Bile — Quantity of Food Taken — Intervals 
between Meals should be Regulated by the Character 
of the Food 50-56 

CHAPTER V. 

AIR AS FOOD. 

Invaluable Experience of Mr. Washburn — Twenty-five 
Years' Experience Breathing Extra Quantities of Air — 
Extra Breathing as a Cure for Consumption — Lungs 
Robbed of their Natural Food — Elemental Substances 
known to Exist in Nature — The Air Contains Every 
Constituent Necessary to Preserve the Life Forces — 
Science of Chemistry Outwitted in Many Kitchens — 
Experience in Australia — Forty-three Days' Fast with- 
out loss of Flesh — Science Calls for Facts — Another 
Lesson in a New Field — Infinite Range of Nature's 
Forces. 56-87 

CHAPTER VI. 

BATHING. , 

Skin Subject to Abuse — The Waste of the Body Princi- 
pally Carbon — Respiration of the Earth Worm. 88-92 

CHAPTER VII. 

CHANGE OF LIFE. 

A Few Simple Rules — Nature Primitive in Her Operations 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Abnormal Growths — Women do not Understand 
their Systems— Listen to the Voice of Nature — Twenty- 
Four Hours' Rest from Eating — Diet During the 
Change — Elevate the Spirit and the Body will Grow 
Strong — Value of Deep Breathing — Benefit of Hot 
Baths at this Period — Possibility of Being as Young 
at Fifty as at Fifteen — Nature Plants in us the Higher 
Reason — Age is in the Mind, not the Body — Refinement 
Implies Power — Beautiful Thoughts from Prentice 
Mulford— Great Possibilities in Nature — Change of 
Life in Man as Critical as in Woman. . . 92-113 

CHAPTER VIII. 

CARE OF THE EYES. 

Sight Important as an Educator — Bad Habits Lessen 
Nerve Force — Absorption of Cataract — Impairment of 
Sight Due to Enfeebled Blood and Nerve Force — 
Benefit to be Derived from the Use of the Flesh Brush 
— Stagnation — Death in Life. . . . . 113-118 

CHAPTER IX. 

PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE. 

Colds Contracted Unconsciously — Indisposition of Chil- 
dren for Play — Perverted Polarity of the Internal and 
External Man — The Internal Organs Negative and the 
External Positive in Health. . . . . 118-123 

CHAPTER X. 

CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 

Pain th£ Result of the Effort of the Vital Forces to 
Restore Health — Fossilized Mind a Hindrance to Pro- 
gression — Flesh Heir to no Ills — All Diseases are a 
Unit — Pure Air the Natural Disinfectant — Rest an 
Absolute Necessity — Inherited or Pre-Natal Tenden- 
cies — Practice Among the very Poor — Mind the Great 
Controller — Cholera Epidemic of Europe— Treatment 



CONTENTS. Vll 

PAGE 

of Asiatic Cholera — Peritonitis (Personal Experience) 
— It Meant Death — Malignant and Non-Malignant 
Scarlet Fever — How to Prevent Disfiguration from 
Smallpox 123-159 

CHAPTER XI. 

TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 

Acute Nephritis — Diabetes — Lean and Nervous People- 
Excess of Sweets — Constipation — Catarrh — Dropsy of 
the Brain, Fainting, etc. . . . . . 160-197 

CHAPTER XII. 

MATERIA MEDICA. 

198-233 

CHAPTER XIII. 

MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 

What Daniel A. M. Clark says — Animal and Vegetable Vi- 
tality — The Nervous Influence — Conduction of Forces 
Through the Nerves — Electrical Force — Lettuce 
Leaves Grown within a Few Hours — Proper Regard 
Must be given to Polarization — Attraction and Repul- 
sion — A Single Agent Made to Perform Processes Infi- 
nitely Numerous — Philosophy of Disease and its Cure 
— Every Disease is Positive or Negative in Excess 
— Relaxed and atrophied Conditions. . . 233-244 

CHAPTER XIV. 

COUNT MATTEl's ELECTRO-HOMCEOPATHY. 

Principles of Electro-Homoeopathy — Superiority of Small 
Doses — A Revolution in Medicine — General . Indica- 
tions as to Doses — External Use — Vegetable Electric- 
ities. . . .... . . . 245-256 

CHAPTER XV. 

CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS. 

Flowers in the Sick-room — Keep All Medicines Away from 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

the Sick-room, etc 257-272 

CHAPTER XVI. 

MEMORY. 

Its Natural Law and Benefit to Life — Knowledge Useless 
When it cannot be Revived — Knowledge of History of 
Great Value to the Statesman — We Judge of the 
Future by the Past — The Natural Musician has a 
Ready Memory — Memory Accompanies Taste — Good 
Memories of Children— Natural Laws of Memory. 272-290 

CHAPTER XVII. 

HEALING THROUGH THE POWER OF MIND. 

Mind Enthroned — "Health Catching" — Greece Expressed 
Her Highest Wisdom in the Words, "Know Thyself"--- 
Happiness, Health, and Heaven are within Us. 290-327 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

TRUE BEAUTY. 

Personal Attractiveness an Obligation — Bad Effects on the 
System from Absorption of Cosmetics by the Skin — 
Constipation Destructive to the Complexion. . 328-331 

CHAPTER XIX. 

VALUE OF REPOSE AS A RESTORATIVE. 

Physical Repose Possesses a Restorative — Nervousness of 
the American People 332-334 

CHAPTER XX. 

MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE OF THE FUTURE. 

Tracing Humanity in Its Various Manifestations — No 
Man's Love Guided by Reason — Happiness Born of 
Self-Denial. . 335-359 



INTRODUCTION. 

(PLEASE READ THIS.) 



In sending this book forth to the world, it is 
with the earnest desire of relieving at least some 
portion of the pain and suffering with which 
humanity is sorely afflicted, and which exists in 
every class and condition of life. 

No mortal state is perfect. The law which, as 
yet, prevents perfection of the human being, in all 
his aspects — physical, mental or spiritual — oper- 
ates also in every department of life, and in every 
field of activity toward which man directs the 
forces of his intellect. Agri culture is but just 
emerging from its crude period ; mechanics is still 
largely in the experimental stage; commerce and 
business are records of successive triumphs and 
failures, the latter predominating; theology has 
but recently commenced to broaden, and the law is 
no better than the men who make it. 

Medicine is but an invention of the human 
brain. Commencing in empiricism, it grew gradu- 
ally into a system of experimentation, and is but 



X INTRODUCTION. 

now slowly approaching the status of a science. 
Anatomy, physiology, pathology, surgery, chem- 
istry, and certain other departments of the pro- 
fession have been, through most praiseworthy and 
Herculean labors, developed into truly scientific 
knowledge, but much of the dark uuattained still 
remains in the materia medica — the healing, cura- 
tive, restorative, health-producing, disease-pre- 
venting department— in which it is the regret of 
many physicians that the darkness is still 
unpleasantly dense. None will more genuinely re- 
joice over advances here made than physicians. 

Of the various cases treated by the physician, 
the obstetrical inspires the most dread; any ad- 
vance here made is hailed with delight equally by 
profession and people. The most important ad- 
vance, namely, the fruit diet system, to be used 
during the period of pregnancy, was promulgated 
by M. L. Holbrook, M. D., and also by Alice B. 
Stockham, M. D., in her work entitled "Tokology ." 
This was a valuable ray of light to the world, and, 
as we continue to develop in this line, other ideas 
will dawn upon us. In this book, I give another 
ray, sending it forth in the hope and with confi- 
dence that, to the extent it shall be adopted and 
practiced, pain will be banished and happiness 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

increased. This new ray is especially valuable in 
giving to the world the knowledge of how to make 
childbirth easy, regardless of the kind of diet used 
during the period of gestation. We would not 
discourage the fruit diet system ; on the contrary, 
we favor it, but there are many women who do 
not, and cannot have the advantage of that 
system, and herein they may find perfect relief in 
this system. 

The chapter on Air as Food contains hints of 
priceless value. The chapter on Memory is so per- 
fect a delineation of the natural laws of memory 
that every one who gives it careful consideration 
will feel no occasion for courses of instruction by 
itinerant teachers. The chapter on Value of Repose 
as a Restorative, will be a boon to a large class. 

Healing through the Power of Mind is a 
chapter which, when fully understood, lifts all ideas 
of life, in its every aspect, to a new and higher 
plane. It makes specially conspicuous the influence 
of the mind over the body, and its great power to 
produce either health or disease. It is an impor- 
tant chapter to be considered in connection with 
all the other chapters, since the mind, rightly 
directed, is a tower of strength, sustaining and 
aiding every other system of treatment. The mind, 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

as a remedial agent, cannot be too highly appre- 
ciated by all classes, whether lay or professional, 
since it has everything to do with the body, wheth- 
er for good or ill. Nearly every one has experi- 
enced the effect of disappointment or sudden fright, 
before a meal. This effect is to instantaneously 
check the appetite and change the desire for food 
into aversion. Contrarily, how good news will 
quicken the circulation and stimulate all the activ- 
ities. With the pregnant woman and the nursing 
mother, this knowledge is invaluable. The success 
or failure of business men depends entirely upon 
the use made of the forces of the mind ; rightly 
directed, success is certain. 

I would not seem arbitrary in the laying down 
of unbreakable rules. Every person must finally, 
to a great extent, rise above the instruction to be 
obtained in books before the grandest achievements 
can be made. Books should be guides, but with 
modifications. They should be followed so far as 
the judgment and good sense approve, and no 
further. Again, it is impossible for any book, 
however complete, to anticipate every emergency ; 
consequently, books should be relied on as furnish- 
ing principles and suggestions, rather than dog- 
matic and iron-clad laws. I wish every reader of 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

this book to consider every sentence in every 
chapter as being simply a thought on which he 
should improve if possible. A book thoroughly 
digested is worth far more to you than one 
thoughtlessly swallowed. Every one is familiar 
with the saying, that "What is meat for one may 
be poison for another." 

There are persons whom strawberries will 
nauseate, and others still who would be thrown in- 
to spasms by eating cheese. Thus it is important 
that each person should observe the effects result- 
ing from any course of treatment, and let his 
feelings as well as his judgment be his guide. There 
are cases where the feelings are perverted, and if 
so, the judgment should rule them. If, however, 
this should not be the case, they — as the true voice 
of nature — should be heeded and respected. 

In chronic diseases the feelings have become 
largely perverted. In acute cases they are natural. 
In the past, the feelings of the patient have not 
been sufficiently considered, and an increase 
instead of a mitigation of suffering has resulted. 
We are learning to be governed by nature more, 
and by arbitrary and tyrannical rules less. Rules 
should be received as guides to lean upon when 
your own intuitions suggest nothing better. The 



XIV INTROD UC TION. 

book that helps your individual intuitions most is 
the best guide for you. 

The human form is the most beautiful thing in 
nature ; the human mind is the strongest power 
possible for us to contemplate. 

A child has the capacity to understand a 

truthful answer to any question that it has the 

mind to ask. 

M. R. M. 
Chicago, III. 



PREVENTION AND CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

CHAPTER I. 

PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 

Painless childbirth is an established fact. It 
was prophesied fifty years ago, by the most emi- 
nent physicians the world ever knew, that the time 
was coming when painless childbirth would be- 
come an established fact generally known to the 
world. 

MRS. ELIZABETH CADY STANTON 

has voiced it from the platform for many years. 
In a lecture to ladies, she thus strongly expresses 
her views regarding maternity and painless partu- 
rition : "We must educate our daughters to think 
motherhood is grand, and that God never cursed 
it. And that the curse, if it be a curse, may be 
rolled off, as man has rolled off the curse of labor, 
by labor-saving inventions ; and as the curse has 
been rolled from the descendants of Ham. My 
mission among women is to preach this new gos- 
pel. If you suffer, it is not because you are cursed 
of God, but because you violate His laws. What 



2 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

an incubus it would take from woman, could she be 
educated to know that the pains of maternity are 
no curse upon her kind. We know that among 
Indians the squaws do not suffer in childbirth. 
They will step aside from the ranks, even on the 
march, and return in a short time, bearing with 
them the new-born child. What an absurdity, 
then, to suppose that only enlightened Christian 
women are cursed." 

Observation teaches us that all animals which 
are left to instinct and nature, bring their young 
into the world without suffering. The Indian 
squaw, as Mrs. Stanton remarks, w T ho is guided 
entirely by her own intuition and the natural 
laws which govern her, brings forth her young 
without pain. She will give birth while following 
a trail, only stopping long enough behind a stump 
or tree, without comforts, or even shelter, and in a 
few hours follow on with her new-born pappoose 
strapped to her shoulders, carrying the little 
burden herself. 

We do not wish to combat physicians on any 
theory, or any established methods of treatment 
which add to the welfare of mankind, but we 
heartily invite the co-operation of all progressive 
and practical thinkers of any school. With us, 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 6 

this knowledge is derived from experience, and not 
from undigested, undefined theories. Our object is 
to avert that suffering known only to woman in 
time of labor. We do not feel that any law of 
ethics should be permitted to interfere with a 
humane promulgation of any knowledge we pos- 
sess in this matter. 

The diet for the mother, while carrying a child, 
should be wisely considered. Set rules cannot be 
followed. A mixed diet is best, including cereals, 
vegetables, meats, and fruits in plenty. Of the 
meats, eat sparingly. If it is no self-denial to do 
without meat, then eat none ; there is greater abil- 
ity for mental and physical endurance and great- 
er fortitude without than with a meat diet ; this 
fact will sometime be universally recognized. 
There are ancient nations — non meat eating — 
whose great endurance demonstrates this fact, 
showing that the necessity for animal food is en- 
tirely a matter of education. The change from 
meat, however, must be gradual, for so long as the 
mind thinks the meat diet necessary, the necessity 
exists ; since the mind exercises great influence and 
control over the body. No change should be 
abrupt. Women, except among the rich, in some 
of the European countries, eat very little meat. 



4 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

In Ireland, women of the poorer class live on a 
diet of potatoes and cabbage, and their confine- 
ments are only from one to three hours in dura- 
tion, with very little pain ; in some cases, no pain 
whatever is experienced. 

If a person is very fleshy and warm-blooded, 
lemonade and juices of berries and fruits are good; 
if lean and thin, oatmeal water and rice water 
make nice drinks, also coffee and tea moderately 
used. Care must be observed in not eating too 
much, thus causing fatigue. A little food well di- 
gested is better than a great deal not digested. 
If the system is in good condition, there will not 
be a particular longing or craving for any certain 
food, but if abnormal, then fancies will be marked. 
If a mother is very fleshy, she should reduce some- 
what by bathing and a very nutritious diet, not 
using much sweet food, eating carefully and in 
small quantities. 

A very thin person should eat farinaceous food 
and cream, vegetables, fruits and nuts, avoiding 
all sweets. It has been the thought with some 
that sweet food makes fat. The sweets cause 
acidity of the stomach; this produces an acid state 
of the blood which prevents the increase of fat and 
muscle. Pastry, cake, and canned fruits which 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 5 

contain a large amount of sugar, should be avoid- 
ed by the pregnant woman. Soups are very good, 
and should be eaten at the beginning of the meal. 
Some women, when pregnant, have excessive 
appetites, eating as much at one meal as formerly 
accustomed to eat in two. Such women have 
large children, often weighing from twelve to 
fourteen pounds at birth. These excessive appe- 
tites should be controlled. Leave the table a little 
hungry, and in less than twenty minutes the 
craving for food will cease, and the general feeling 
will be much improved ; as a result, the child will 
not be so large. The pregnant woman cannot 
drink too much water, since much extra fluid is 
demanded by the system; hot water is best if she 
enjoys it. The solid food should be well masti- 
cated and mixed with saliva. The practice of deep 
breathing should be cultivated and encouraged 
daily, during all the months of gestation. The 
extra air breathed will form a substitute for a 
portion of the solid food otherwise craved. It has 
not been generally taught, nevertheless it is a 
great and most valuable physiological truth, that 
the air we breathe is as necessary to the building 
of tissue and muscle as solid food. The breathing 
exercise will also be a most excellent additional 



6 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

preparation for the day of confinement. It will 
not only make less table food (air is food) necessa- 
ry, but it will give an improved tone to the system 
generally. 

A person must attend well to cleanliness so as 
to eliminate all impure secretion that tends to the 
surface. This helps to purify the blood and 
strengthen the muscles. A very fleshy person can 
use water freely, and any kind of baths are of 
benefit. But a very thin and delicate person must 
use oils; any of the vegetable oils will do. Rub 
the oil well into the skin, then take a piece of 
flannel or a Turkish towel and rub until the skin is 
dry and soft. This makes a person feel strong 
and vigorous. This rule applies to children as 
well. The oils should be used twice a week in a 
warm room. 

We advocate the hot baths, using water, steam 
or Turkish. A warm sitz-bath, taken just before 
retiring, and the bowels and back well washed with 
pure soap, will be very beneficial twice a week, for 
two months before childbirth. 

I am acquainted with a number of ladies who 
used the Turkish or Russian baths during the 
entire nine months of gestation, with the most 
gratifying results. One of them had just time to 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 7 

reach home from the bath when the child was 
born; there was no opportunity for the family 
physician to arrive in time. She was the mother 
of five children. Attend well to the feet by bathing 
them at least every other night, on retiring. If 
troubled with habitually cold feet, dip them alter- 
nately first into a pan of hot water, then into cold ; 
repeat this several times before wiping them dry. 
This practice will soon establish the condition of 
permanently warm feet, an important aid to good 
health. 

The system here introduced is not new. It is 
known and has been practiced in various parts of 
Europe for a hundred years. I acquired the 
knowledge from one whose memory is sacred to 
me; who herself was the mother of eight large 
children, all born under the treatment that will be 
herein set forth. Her health remained unbroken, 
free from any weakness or injury from the many 
confinements she had passed through. The system 
is perfectly safe in the hands of the unprofessional. 
It is often the case in country places that the only 
dependence of the about-to-be-mother is upon the 
kind offices of a neighbor or friend. This system 
would be a boon to every woman in the land. It 
in no way interferes with the physician; on the 



8 . CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

contrary it relieves both him and the patient of 
much anxiety, comforting her through the months 
of waiting, and relieving her mind of that terror 
and dread of confinement now so universal. It is 
a blessing come to woman, a system born of 
nature, soothing and refreshing. It eliminates all 
morbid accumulations and secretions, establishing 
a general equilibrium. 

Many who have had their first child under this 
system have remarked :"AVhy, I could have another 
and not feel tired." Others, who in previous con- 
finements have been ruptured and lacerated, and 
cautioned not to become pregnant again, after- 
wards pass through their confinements as safely 
as though former accidents had not occurred. 
The harmful tension at birth is caused by lack of 
right knowledge on the part of the patient, and 
an inherited ignorance from an ancestry before 
her. This injurious tension we remove. The 
relaxation of the nervous and muscular system is 
in perfect harmony with nature. 

The approaching termination of gestation is 
indicated usually by various symptoms called 
precursory or premonitory signs of labor. About 
the last two weeks a change becomes perceptible in 
the form of the abdomen. Its sides become more 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 9 

projecting, as the uterine tumor sinks from the 
region of the stomach and epigastrium. This 
change makes breathing easier, the food is taken 
with less discomfort, and in many ways the woman 
feels lighter and better. This change results from 
the body and neck of the womb blending into one, 
through the softening and giving way of the os 
internum uteri, and by the sinking downward of 
the uterus ; the fundus of which is now found to lie 
midway between the ensiform cartilage of the 
sternum, and the umbilicum. At the same time 
the uterus is projected forward. The inclination 
to urinate becomes more frequent,' owing to the 
increased pressure on the bladder. Sleep is more 
broken by restlessness, and walking becomes more 
difficult. The woman becomes more clumsy, and, 
a little later, glairy discharges take place from the 
vagina. These simply show an increased action of 
the mucous glands preparing for the final act of 
parturition. Finally there is the commencement 
of painless contractions ; these, a little later on, 
become somewhat painful, this slight painfulness 
t>eing only one of the signs. The mucous is more 
or less tinged with blood from the rupture of small 
vessels around the cervix, due to commencing 
dilatation and separation of the membrane — in 



10 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the language of the lying-in chamber, "the show." 
As the patient is about to give birth to the 
child, she should see that the bowels are evacuated, 
and if this is not accomplished naturally, a 
copious injection of warm water should be used. 
If constipation is very obstinate, an injection of 
slippery elm infusion with a little soap should be 
taken, in order to insure a free evacuation. 

In the early part of the first stage give Avarm 
tea, a cup every ten minutes, or as the case may 
require, inducing free perspiration. Have the 
room warm, with plenty of pure air. Attend to 
the feet and keep them Avarm. Pay attention to 
oiling the vagina and surrounding tissues with 
pure, sweet lard or unsalted butter. All handling 
or maneuvering, in the hope of bettering the 
process of nature, is uncalled for and injurious. 
Parts that are taxed by this process of nature 
quickly rally to a normal condition and tone, 
while unnecessary manipulation may subject them 
to serious injury and cause much after suffering. 
While the patient is taking the tea, she should pay 
special attention to extra breathing. Fill the 
lungs by inhaling through the nostrils, breathing 
as deeply as possible, and exhaling slowly in the 
same manner. Extra, breathing increases the 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 11 

strength and endurance of the patient; all reme- 
dies act more forcibly, and, capillary circulation 
being increased, at the same time hemorrhages are 
prevented or cured. This will cause pressure where 
otherwise there Avould be pain, and I cannot im- 
press it too vividly upon your minds. 

Many suppose that perspiration is weakening ; 
experience has proven to the contrary. Free per- 
spiration removes all fear of fever and other 
unpleasant symptoms generally attending child- 
birth. The child and placenta are delivered in 
from one to three hours at the longest, and the 
patient is left free from laceration, rupture, fevers, 
blood poisoning, and all the sequences so fre- 
quently following parturition. She suffers no 
pains, soreness, rigors, nor chills, when reaction 
takes place. Age is no hindrance to an easy and 
natural delivery. It will be as easy at forty as at 
twenty years of age. Nothing less than a malfor- 
mation of the pelvis can prevent a perfect delivery. 
In such a case, where surgical aid might be 
required, my treatment would still be of great 
assistance; it is invaluable in premature births, 
when the contents are large enough to give expul- 
sive power. 

When the time has come for the mother to give 



12 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

birth, she should put on a loose dress— a flannel 
wrapper is best. Flannel is a non-conductor of 
heat, and as the object of the treatment is to 
remove all tension of the nervous and muscular 
tissues, the retention of the heat becomes an 
assistant, and also aids in dilating the os uteri 
and surrounding tissues. 

Do not lie down to have your offspring, unless 
very strongly inclined so to do. You do not lie 
down to work. A kneeling position is most desir- 
* able for some Avomen, holding for support to 
something in front of them; with others the sitting 
posture is easiest; move around and find the 
position that seems most comfortable. Many a 
mother has been sacrificed through the feeling that 
she must go to bed for the birth of her child. 
Nature at that time needs all the energy and as- 
sistance an intelligent mother can give. Do every- 
thing possible to assist; breathe deeply, hold a full 
breath, and by thus expanding the lungs, assist 
nature to bring forth her young. 

After the child is born, the mother should lie 
down and have some gruel, broth, or a cup of tea. 
If the after-birth immediately follows the birth of 
the child, nothing more is required at the time. If 
it is retained, and when the mother is rested, the 



PAINLESS CHILDBIBTH 13 

attending physician can remove it; this can easily 
be accomplished by an injection, into the vagina 
and rectum, of slippery elm infusion and pure 
soap, thus relaxing and loosening the parts and 
causing a natural and easy delivery. Keeping 
warm and paying attention to the breathing will 
prevent any unusual discharge of blood. The 
patient must possess perfect control of herself, 
realizing that it is natural to bear children. She 
must not become frightened, and thus nervous 
and helpless as so many women do, as the result 
of hearing of the terrible experiences of others. If 
there have been sad experiences in the past, their 
day is over, and a new and happy era for the 
mother-woman has dawned. 

After the expulsion of the child, it is better to 
turn its back to its mother, and let her covering 
fall between herself and the child, thus bringing it 
into full view, and completely protecting the 
mother from cold or exposure. A soft napkin 
should now be used to wipe the child's face, eyes 
and mouth. The child usually cries lustily as 
soon as it is born. The sudden contact with the 
air is exciting, and more or less irritating to the 
exceedingly sensitive infant; the natural cry as- 
sists in establishing the new function of breathing. 



14 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Be not disturbed at this first manifestation of ex- 
ternal life through the seemingly painful cries, for 
the absence of these would give much more cause 
for alarm. 

Let the child lie undisturbed for some five 
minutes, or until breathing is fully established. 
By that time, in most cases, the cord will have 
ceased to pulsate up to within about three inches 
of the child's body. It should then be cut about 
three inches from the abdomen. In one minute 
the flow of blood from the cord will have ceased, 
when the cord should be tied, with coarse silk or 
thread, about two inches from the abdomen. 
Should the cord seem large and tapering from the 
abdomen, it may be because a portion of the in- 
testine is within it. In such case cut the cord be- 
yond the extended intestine, return the intestine 
into the abdomen, and retain it there by a belly- 
band. After the cord is washed and dried, take a 
piece of cotton, the size of the palm of the hand, 
cut a hole in it large enough for the cord to pass 
through, and place the cloth next the body of the 
child. Cut another piece of the same size, and, 
without the hole, place over the cord and hold in 
place by the belly-band. 

After it has healed properly, do not use band- 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 15 

ages any longer; discard them entirety. Do 
not use a diaper after three months, but teach the 
child to use a little chair. You may doubt the 
possibility of teaching a child so young, but try it 
and be convinced. Much labor is saved the moth- 
er by teaching the child early. 

Have the baby's mouth washed well before 
placing it to the mother's breast; sometimes the 
acrid secretion causes the nipples to become very 
sore. Do not be in a hurry to feed the baby; but 
after it has rested quietly for an hour, wash it 
clean and dress it warmly and loosely. Never 
place the child directly on its back ; let it lie on 
the side, or turn the body so it will lie partly on 
the abdomen. 

If there are reasons why the child should not 
be placed at the breast for the first five hours, it is 
better to adhere to the old practice of giving it 
catnip tea sweetened. Never use any of the adver- 
tised nostrums to make the baby sleep. Feed and 
dress it properly, and nature will take care of the 
rest. The first secretions of the mother's milk 
contain the necessary laxatives for the removal of 
the meconium from the bowels of the child. The 
meconium is of a dark, sticky nature and is natu- 
ral to the first conditions. Some mothers have 



16 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

been frightened at the appearance of the child's 
first evacuations, not knowing that they were per- 
fectly healthy. 

A child always thrives best on milk; great 
injury to children results from giving them, too 
soon, food that requires mastication. If the child 
has to be fed artificially, see that the milk is 
fresh, and the bottle kept clean and sweet ; never 
dilute the milk, but give it pure and good, and 
always warm. A teaspoonful of lime water to a 
pint of milk will be beneficial in the summer. 
Never overload the child's stomach ; better feed it 
too little than too much. Give a baby a drink of 
water daily, at the temperature of spring water. 

It is well to remark here, that laboring women, 
especially brain workers, are the ones who suffer 
most at childbirth. This is owing to the fact that 
severe mental or physical strain produces great 
nervous and muscular tension. Consequently, the 
amount of rest necessary must be in proportion to 
the reserve force expended. 

Ladies who have led easy lives during preg- 
nancy, having no muscular or mental strain of 
any kind previous to parturition, are the ones 
who have easy confinements. So the more rest 
the about-to-become mother can take, the easier 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 17 

she can overcome any previous tension of the 
nervous system, and the more she is preparing the 
way for a perfect delivery. 

By an easy life, I do not mean one without 
mental or physical occupation ; I do not mean an 
aimless life, nor an idle, indolent, frivolous one. I 
mean the life lead by women who are not over- 
worked, overtaxed in mind or body; a life free 
from vexation and worry, whose environments are 
cheerful ; the life of the woman who does take air, 
exercise and proper food in delightful quantities, 
but who is not in any sense a hopeless, woe-be- 
gone, cheerless drudge. 

Man is the only member of the animal king- 
dom who shows any signs of labor or discomfort 
in bringing forth young. The mare Avill roll from 
side to side to help herself, and then stand erect to 
produce expulsion. In this branch of knowledge, 
we must not disdain to receive instruction from 
every possible source, for the enlightenment of our 
race. Thus only can we hope to overcome and 
control the most dreaded period of a woman's life. 
Do not fail to bear in mind the fact, that all fear 
in the mind of the patient or physician must be 
put aside, and replaced by confidence and hope; 

So our experience has been a return to the 



18 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED 

good old times when pain and suffering were un- 
known at the period of childbirth, and they have 
come again for all who reach out for knowledge. 
Many women have been injured by lying in bed 
too long. I have always allowed my patients to 
sit up on the third or fourth day, though it is well 
to caution against excesses. I have sometimes 
found it difficult to keep my patients in bed twen- 
ty-four hours after the birth of the child. It is 
well, when having an impulse to get up, to do so ; 
and if, in the course of the next three minutes, 
there is an impulse to return to the bed, obey it; 
this gives a little agreeable and useful exercise, is 
a change for the limbs and body, and does no 
harm. Kepeat several times a day until full 
strength has returned. It is better for the mother 
to wait one or two weeks before taxing her 
strength too much. A proper amount of exercise, 
proportionate to the strength, is always beneficial. 
With the first feeling of fatigue the mother should 
lie down and rest. Her household duties should 
not be her first thought; herself and child are 
much more important. The husband and every 
member of the family should contribute all in their 
power to add to her welfare and comfort. Her 
cares and duties have been increased. Nursing the 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 19 

child taxes the strength of the mother, and over- 
work and worry of mind impoverishes the milk in 
quality and quantity. Her ease and comfort in- 
sure restful sleep and good digestion to both her- 
self and child. The first three to six months of the 
child's life are passed principally in sleep, this 
being necessary for its healthful and beautiful 
development. 

In this connection, while upon the subject of 
gestation and parturition, I will give the very in- 
teresting experience of a San Francisco lady. She 
is a woman of unusual quality of character, as will 
readily be seen. In the first letter I received from 
her, she w r rites : "I have thought for several years 
that things were not wisely ordered, in many re- 
spects, one of them being the science of having 
children; and now that I have acquired some 
knowledge in this respect, I am too old to put it 
into practice. When I had my children, I had 
made some study in the art of training my system 
by dieting, bathing, exercise, etc. I also studied 
how to determine the sex desired ; but I found the 
most important point was the study and cultiva- 
tion of the intellectual, including temperament 
and disposition. I felt that every part of the 
child should be under the mother's control, that 



20 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

she was more than an ordinary sculptor, molding 
the mind as well as the external form." 

In reply to this letter, I asked if she would not 
favor me with a more extended expression of her 
knowledge in this direction, in order that I might 
give it to the world through my book. In reply 
she kindly returned the following : 

"During the period of pregnancy I took a bath 
every morning at seven, being careful that the 
room was always four or five degrees warmer than 
the bath; once a week I used soap. Took break- 
fast at eight, followed by an hour or two of gentle 
exercise, then a walk, if the weather was favorable, 
but never extended to cause fatigue. On returning 
I rested by lying down for half an hour, always 
throwing a blanket over me to avoid taking cold. 
Following the rest, I indulged in some pleasing 
and interesting book ; but in all these changes I 
never forsook the idea that I was forming a new 
life, and that a large responsibility for the charac- 
ter of the new being was resting upon myself. I 
tried to maintain the best frame of mind possible 
at all times, feeling that any varying moods on 
my part must make corresponding impressions on 
the child. I have since observed that w T hen either 
of my children acted in a decided manner, I could 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 21 

look back and see myself mirrored perfectly. 

During the first three months I ate three meals 
a day, being particular not to overload my 
stomach, and eating a very light supper. I always 
retired at nine, in a room well ventilated by hav- 
ing the window down at the top the year round. 
For the next six months I ate only two meals a 
day. A hearty diet results in a large child, caus- 
ing a difficult birth. A knowledge of what is prop- 
er food is very essential, and should be well under- 
stood. Vegetables, fruits and cereals comprised 
my diet, together with graham bread ; all cooked 
very plainly. I ate no meat of any kind, and 
drank neither tea nor coffee. I felt that meat 
created fever and made the bones of the child 
harder, consequently hardening the bones of the 
skull, and making the birth more difficult ; hence 
the occasional demand for doctor's instruments. 
This theory concerning meat is disputed by some. 
Meat may not affect all in the same manner, still I 
would at least advise that it be used sparingly. I 
drank nothing at meals, eating my food as dry as 
possible ; thus it was nearly half digested when 
swallowed. My digestion was never weakened by 
fluids of any kind 

During the last three months extra care 



22 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

should be taken to prepare for the birth, in ad- 
dition to the morning bath. At this time my 
increased size and weight caused a little fever; to 
allay this, on retiring I used a wet compress, plac- 
ing it around my body from the waist down, the 
cloth being dipped in tepid water, wrung out, and 
placed in position with a dry one over it. By this 
means I slept well every night, awaking perfectly 
refreshed in the morning. 

During the last six weeks I took a sitz bath 
every afternoon, three hours after eating. Once 
or twice a week I rubbed my abdomen with sweet 
oil, on retiring. To keep my nipples from being 
sore when the babe began to nurse, I rubbed them 
with sweet oil and alum; this hardened them for 
future use. Judging by myself, I believe it to be 
much better for a woman to room alone at this 
time. 

I was and am not what would be termed a 
naturally built woman; in consequence was very 
cautious about everything concerning the birth of 
my first child, for fear of failure. To give an idea 
of my form, anything fastened around my waist 
would slip over my hips. As I came through with- 
out trouble, it proves how much easier it would be 
for one of perfect build. I wore my clothes loose, 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 23 

suspended from my shoulders, and never wore cor- 
sets. If all women would dress in this way they 
would find great relief from back ache, and other 
weaknesses. 

In regulating the sex of my children according 
to my desire, I think I had some success. With my 
first child, owing to the absence of all experience, 
or teaching from others, I had less confidence, and 
was less positive. I was young, being only eight- 
een years of age. My wish was that my child 
should be a girl. This desire was strong with me 
from the first, and, to my great joy, my wish was 
gratified. I have had but three children. My suc- 
cess or seeming success, with the first, gave me 
confidence to be more positive with the next two. 
Eight years intervened between the birth of my 
first and that of my second child, thus giving me 
time for study. I desired that the second also 
should be a girl, and so it proved. The third I 
desired should be a boy, and should resemble his 
mother; here also a perfect result was realized, he 
being dark, the opposite of his two sisters, who 
were light and resembled their father. 

This was my theory. From the time I felt 
positive that I was pregnant, I threw my mind 
on the lower portion of the body, keeping in mind 



24 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the sex desired. I continued this method for at 
least two months after discovering my condition. 
It was my last thought at night, first in the morn- 
ing, and the one uppermost in mind while perform- 
ing my work. During the remaining months of 
gestation, I gave my thought to the moral and 
intellectual formation of the embryonic man or 
woman, feeling that I could give the mind such 
direction as I pleased. I had read of criminals 
being made such in the mother's womb, through 
her criminal thoughts, and this encouraged me to 
believe that it lay within my province to shape my 
child's tendencies, whether for good or evil, for 
Aveal or woe. I am happy in having reason to be- 
lieve it now more strongly than ever. 

In using the term criminal, I refer especially to 
abortions and efforts of the mother to be rid of 
her child. If she does not succeed, which is often 
the case, then she surely brings forth a child with 
a criminal bent of mind. Think of it; if such 
action does not result in the successful murder of 
the child, the chances are for the production of a 
criminal! Here is a great law involved, which 
should be better understood. Think of music, and 
the musician is born; think of genius in any line, 
and the law of "like producing like" is again mani- 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 25 

fested. Think of the mechanical, the practical, for 
the purpose of great and important usefulness, and 
nature again gladly grants your wish. Think of 
poetry, and a poetic mind will gladden your heart. 
Think of the graceful in form, and nature again 
leaps joyously to your assistance. Nature is our 
loving mother, and her goodness is boundless. As 
women, with great destinies in our keeping, let us 
live above every thought which would tend to per- 
vert or destroy the perfect development of our 
children. 

With none of my children did I ever suffer 
from sickness at the stomach, nor did I ever lose 
sleep. During the day, if I felt sleepy, I indulged in 
a nap, feeling that this was one of the agencies for 
insuring a good baby. I was housekeeping at the 
time, doing all my work, including washing, until 
the last month, when I had an assistant. When I 
felt that the crisis was near, I kept on my feet as 
long as possible. I found that to give birth stand- 
ing, or on my knees, was easiest; others have told 
me that they found the sitting position best. I 
never suffered with pains more than half an hour. 
I to*3k my first two children myself, till a neighbor 
came to my assistance; I then gave her instruc- 
tions how to cut the cord, and brought the after- 



26 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

birth myself; then bathed with warm water. 
Had no after-pains, and never wore a bandage. 
Had it been necessary, I could have washed the 
babe myself, and did so from that on. I rose the 
next morning, took my nice warm bath, dressed 
for breakfast, and washed the baby. 

I allowed my children to nurse as soon as they 
were dressed, and had plenty of nourishment for 
them. In my diet I made no change. I lay down 
awhile in the morning, rising in time for dinner; 
also in the afternoon. This plan I followed for 
three days. The fourth day I went down-stairs 
with the babe, and on the ninth day, went out 
visiting. I wanted to live as near nature as pos- 
sible. I believe that much contemplation of the 
manner of life of the Indian women was a great 
help to me, giving me courage to dare to be more 
natural. 

I am decidedly strong on the Woman's Eights 
question, and do not believe women should be 
obliged to bring unwelcome children into the 
world. I believe it to be the right of every woman 
to bear only the number of children she desires, 
and also in her right to the best conditions* for 
producing the best children. Man will yield when 
he must, therefore it devolves on woman to take 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH 27 

the lead in this new and most important move- 
ment. It is not my intention to say anything de- 
rogatory to masculinity; had my sex been in- 
dulged through the ages as the male sex has been, 
the result would probably have been the same. 

A WORD TO HUSBANDS. 

During the w T hole period of gestation, the wife 
and mother will do better if she can have the as- 
sistance of her husband. This assistance consists 
simply in his extending to her his kindness, con- 
sideration, regard and sympathy. To render 
these he need lose no time from his business. It is 
not a question of time on his part, but of an 
understanding of the great value he has it in his 
power to be to her, without money and without 
price. Every husband should learn to appreciate 
the fact that there is no kind of stock raising so 
valuable as human stock. He no longer requires 
teaching relative to the successful improvement of 
horse flesh; having risen so high in the scale of 
knowledge, let him take still another step, and 
learn a still higher lesson. Not to any original 
evil in nature or disposition is his seeming careless- 
ness of the higher laws to be laid; it is simply the 
result of inherited tendencies and defective edu- 
cation. 



28 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

It would almost appear as if men in general 
reason that, when horses die, money is required to 
buy more, but when women die, there are plenty 
to be had for nothing. We can scarcely believe 
this to be his real idea; yet his tragic and grief 
producing course is none the less a terrible truth. 
It is, however, a pleasure to be able to state that 
there are, among husbands, many noble excep- 
tions to this sad rule. Women are laboring, and 
will continue to labor, to bring all husbands up to 
a nobler and more beautiful plane of being, and a 
higher standard of thought. 

If the mother is so unfortunate as to be denied 
the due co-operation of her husband, let her re- 
member that it is always upon her, much more 
than upon him, that results depend; and, when she 
correctly and fully understands the power that is 
hers to exercise in the Divine office of maternity, 
she can accomplish much, even though his aid is 
withheld. It is the laws of being, that produce 
and govern being, that she needs to know; and she 
should esteem it a glorious privilege to be living in 
a century when woman is no longer denied the 
right of free speech, equally with her brother man. 

We, as women, will continue to agitate this 
subject, and as men become more accustomed to 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 29 

its discussion, they will learn to better appreciate 
it. Men are good hearted, but too many of them 
are wrong-headed; and, as conservative institu- 
tions never reform themselves, so neither will men 
become self reformers; an outside influence must be 
brought to bear upon them. 

Woman's nature is so heroic that she would 
willingly risk her life in order to have children that 
will be an honor to her. She is willing to do her 
best, but is wanting in a knowledge of the govern- 
ing laws. She only slightly realizes that the dis- 
position of her infant, whether sunny, confident, 
hopeful, strong and steady, or dark, despairing, 
weak and vacillating, is a matter almost wholly 
under her control. She little realizes that the con- 
ditions of her mind are repeated in the mind of the 
child; that her mental states are indelibly im- 
pressed on the mind of the child she is forming; 
and that the connection between the mind of 
mother and child is telegraphic and direct. She 
little realizes the power she possesses, even inde- 
pendently of her husband's assistance, to direct 
the character and disposition of her offspring. 

A woman under these circumstances should 
read cheery, noble books; these make valuable im- 
pressions upon, and divert her mind and thoughts 



30 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

from things that might otherwise be troublous. 
She can generally maintain an even and composed 
state of mind, by realizing that the future well- 
being of the child, and possibly her own, depends 
on this. She can affirm that she will retire at 
night with only pleasant thoughts, and rise in the 
morning w T ith a song of gladness in her heart; 
gladness that she is passing through an experience 
necessary to the perfect fulfilment of her noble 
destiny. She can make pleasant calls on congenial 
acquaintances. She can ever have the one thought 
uppermost that her duty to the forming child is 
before every other, and she can reason herself into 
such a superior mental attitude respecting this 
temporary state, as to carry it through success- 
fully, even though the co-operation of him on 
whom she should most naturally depend, be un- 
fortunately w r anting. She can also, it being more 
natural to her than to him, retire to her closet and 
derive much strength from prayer, from commun- 
ion with the supreme power, and communion with 
herself as well, for it is only in secret that we truly 
learn to know ourselves. We may receive help and 
suggestions from friends and books, but the deep 
and subtle self-knowledge is received only in the 
stillness of solitude. 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 31 

There is another phase of marriage concerning 
which it is not only highly proper to give instruc- 
tion, — it is indeed imperative. Men will not teach 
it, the medical colleges do not teach it; it consists 
in correcting the idea that male continence is in- 
jurious. The average physician teaches that it is 
harmful for a man to retain his seed. More 
wicked instruction it is impossible to imagine. If 
the male has not sufficient legitimate employment 
to absorb and profitably use his surplus energies, 
let him, as John Milton said, go out and saw a log 
of wood. This erroneous teaching is so ingrained 
in the masculine mind as to prevent realization 
that by cultivating the mentality, the lower nature 
may be uplifted and transformed. Please under- 
stand that I do not condemn; I would only in- 
struct. Men have become so saturated with this 
pernicious teaching that they have come to believe 
that unless an outlet is found whereby they may 
throw away the substance which is, did they but 
know it, their true elixir, illness will result; and 
this so preys upon their minds that they really do 
become ill from brooding over their denial. 

Now, these men are innately good and they 
will yield to rational thought as soon as theyican 
be made to realize the better way. They will readi- 



32 CURE GF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

\y observe continence in the marriage relation, 
when they rightly understand the laws governing 
their being. The dark age is past, but there is still 
some medical teaching that deserves to go with it. 
The medical colleges should teach greater cultiva- 
tion of the higher nature, and less of the lower. 
They should teach that happiness as well as 
health demands it, not only because it would in- 
crease the husband's health and happiness, but 
because it would infinitely enhance the chances of 
the wife for continued strength, and healthy, 
happy offspring. 

"As a man thinks, so is he," is a great truth, 
and so long as men believe continence to be in- 
jurious, the practice of it will make them ill-tem- 
pered, if not sick. It is a great truth, borne out 
by nature, that the masculine element will never 
be perfect in disposition, genius and physique, till 
it learns and believes the law that a conservation 
of the life forces, and not their Avaste, is the higher 
life. Man should more fully realize that the mar- 
riage that never dies is of the soul, not the body. 
He must realize that only on this higher plane is it 
possible to retain his wife's love, never through 
sensuality. He should realize that during the 
period of gestation, his wife's privacy should be 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 33 

sacred, and that not only his wife and child, but 
himself as well, will be better for it. When fully 
enlightened on this subject, he will understand 
that the more entirely he adheres to this rule, the 
more surely is he developing in himself a nobler 
and more perfect manhood. Continence is not in- 
jurious; on the contrary, it is beneficial." 

Before studying medicine with a view to its 
practice, and while I w T as yet but a young girl, 
living in the country where there was no physician 
in the neighborhood, I had some experience, a 
portion of which I will relate. I did not then see, 
as I do now, that this experience was a clear indi- 
cation of the vocation which would be most to my 
taste, as indeed it has ever been. There w T ere some 
surgical cases, which, in the absence of an im- 
mediate physician, seemed naturally to fall into 
my hands; when the physician finally arrived, he 
would express astonishment at the skill displayed. 
But this part of my youthful experience in medi- 
cine is not called for here. It is of some obstetrical 
cases that I wish to speak. 

Case 1. — A young married woman, age twenty- 
five, large and quite indolent, had been in labor 
twenty-four hours when her husband called for my 
assistance. She had had an insatiable appetite 



34 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

during the entire nine months of gestation, which 
she had never tried to control. I first placed a 
gallon jug of hot water at her feet, and hot appli- 
cations over the abdomen. I then gave her hot 
relaxing tea every ten minutes, all she could drink, 
producing in twenty minutes a copious perspira- 
tion. The child was delivered, with placenta, in 
two hours, its weight being fourteen pounds. The 
mother made a rapid recovery, suffering no rup- 
ture or laceration. 

Case 2. — A young married woman, seven 
months pregnant, returning one night from a 
church entertainment, jumped to the ground from 
a lumber wagon in which she had been riding. 
The bag of waters was broken, and discharged a 
little daily for a week; pains of a severe character 
then set in, which continued forty-eight hours. 
Extremities became cold to the hips, and all 
pains ceased. She became alarmed at the situa- 
tion, being miles from any physician, when I was 
asked to see her. I decided that what I had done 
for others would aid her. After stimulating with 
hot relaxing tea, and putting hot flat-irons to her 
feet, the child was born in twenty minutes. It had 
no finger nails, only a thin filmy substance in their 
stead, and a large open fontanel beating like an 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 35 

exposed brain. It was of dark bluish color, and 
\veighed only three and a half pounds. No milk 
came into the mother's breast for a month. She 
was up in a few days, and the child has grown to 
full manhood, healthy and strong. 

Case 3. — A Mrs. D — miscarried her first child. 
Her second, which came at full term, was delivered 
in an hour and a half. No pain whatever, only, a 
sense of pressure, was experienced. 

Case 4. — Mrs. W — , thirty-nine years of age, of 
low stature, thickset, fleshy, and of short breath, 
counselled with me in the beginning of her preg- 
nancy. I found her in a state of mind bordering 
on desperation. I assured her that she had no 
trouble to apprehend; her fear, however, was not 
overcome until later. I recommended some ap- 
propriate books adapted to one in her condition; 
she read these and gave herself up to the higher 
wisdom. She kept away from such persons as 
would only depress her feelings and increase her 
anxiety, and in this way her mind was brought 
into a harmonious state. She grew to look for- 
ward with a fearless and strong heart to the fulfil- 
ment of her pregnancy, keeping uppermost in her 
mind the naturalness of child-bearing, and placing 
trust in the supreme wisdom that does all things 



36 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

well. When the time for her confinement came, I 
was called again. I gave the treatment I had 
learned to employ, relaxed her system with artifi- 
\ cial heat, and she had an easy delivery, so easy as 

to cause her to remark that she would not dread 
to have another. 

Since graduating from a medical college and 
taking up the practice as a profession, I find that 
I was, in my youth, on the right track, my present 
system being only an improvement on my early 
method. 

The following is an extreme case. A single 
lady, twenty-seven years of age, had unsuccess- 
fully attempted an abortion to save her reputa- 
tion. She was very beautiful. Her occupation 
was that of sewing. The poisonous drugs she had 
taken produced the death of the foetus, but not its 
expulsion. A great sufferer, she had lain in this 
condition six weeks, and was reduced almost to a 
skeleton. Two of the city physicians exhausted 
their skill on her, without success, and left her to 
die under the effects of opium. While in this dying 
condition, another lady physician and myself were 
called. I suggested the sweating process, in con- 
nection with hot water injections to the unrelax- 
ing womb, keeping her, meanwhile, warmly 



PAINLESS CHILDBIRTH. 37 

covered. One hour after this treatment the entire 
system relaxed, including the os-uteri, expelling 
contents, which was a rotten mass of putrefaction. 
The odor of a dissecting room was nothing com- 
pared with this. Another injection, not so warm, 
with a few drops of carbolic acid, was given, when 
she fell into a sound sleep. The sack or bag of 
waters did not break until reaction set in, produc- 
ing painless contractions. The free perspiration 
also eliminated all poisons which had been taken 
into the stomach, purifjdng the entire system of 
foreign matter. She recovered perfectly, free from 
the least indication of fever or blood poisoning, 
as would ordinarily be expected. One who had 
undergone a Turkish bath could not have report- 
ed more satisfactorily. 

At another time, while visiting in Minneapolis, 
I was invited to a Woman's Hospital as counsel in 
a severe labor case. The woman had been in great 
suffering for two days, and, on examination, I 
found still no dilatation of the os-uteri. I sug- 
gested my usual course, which was followed. In 
an hour and a half the child was delivered without 
pain, and there was a perfect recovery. 

My obstetrical cases have been very numerous, 
but I have never lost a case, nor met with an 



38 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

accident. Among these cases have been some 
critical ones, handed over to me from the hands of 
experts and surgeons. For the benefit of those 
who are easily alarmed by stories of the serious 
experiences of others, the following illustrates 
what a woman can do in the absence of all assist- 
ance. A woman, age forty, and mother of five chil- 
dren, lived on a farm in a vicinity where there was 
neither physician nor midwife. During the absence 
of her husband on business, she was taken with 
labor pains. Without assistance, alone in the 
house, she wrapped herself in a woolen shawl, and 
drank hot water and whiskey until free perspira- 
tion was induced. She did not lie down, but kept 
on her feet, knees, or in a sitting position: She had 
not long to wait before the child was born. She 
cut the cord, tied it, and waited for the after-birth, 
changing position frequently. This soon came, 
and in a few days she w r as as well as usual. 
Through it all she was entirely without fear. 



CHAPTER II. 

EDUCATION OF INFANTS. 

It has been said that education should com- 
mence at the cradle, and never cease. It should 
commence even earlier. On this point the follow- 
ing by Dr. J. B. S. King is excellent: 

"Education of infants may at first strike the 
reader as incongruous or possibly as an absurdity. 
How, it will be asked, can these little morsels of 
humanity, without the power of paying attention, 
without thought, a prey to every wayward in- 
fluence, with their aimless motions, their expres- 
sionless faces, be, in any sense of the word, educat- 
ed? Surely the infant mind must be a blank, 
incapable of education until more developed. 
Such objections unconsciously betray themselves 
and admit the very thing for which we contend. 
'Until more developed' (that very development is 
the education meant) 'a prey to every wayward 
influence,' shows the means and possibility of edu- 
cation." 

At birth the baby's mind is a blank, but there 
are five little senses so delicately alive that this 



40 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

condition soon ceases, and whether we are aware 
of it or not, education has begun. At first the 
infant passively receives what comes to him, but 
he is destined soon to be fed by five vigorous little 
loves, affections or desires, actively seeking grati- 
fication, and thus laying the foundation ideas for 
the building up of a human character, destined to 
endure through all the measureless mutations of 
eternity; for the first contact with any external 
thing impresses itself upon the form and substance 
of the tender skin, modifying its state, and con- 
veying the impression received by a thousand 
little sentient nerves to the ganglia of the brain, 
where it is registered upon those soft but enduring 
substances as the first impressions, upon the baby 
mind, of substance and of form. 

The first impression on the mind of the child 
should be made by means of contact with the 
mother. The little aimless hand, blindly groping 
in its new environment, should first touch the 
mother's skin, and the velvety cheek of the little 
head should come in contact with nothing less 
than the mother's breast. The sense of touch in- 
evitably communicates its delight to its four 
companion senses, and in a very short time 
excites into activity, sight, taste, smell and hear- 



EDUCATION OF INFANTS. 41 

ing. The maternal touch incites the infant to 
reach forth to the mother and absorb from her 
those things which nourish and delight him; after 
touch, comes smell, as the child inhales from the 
warm body of the mother odoriferous particles 
w r hich delight and awaken it to a new perception. 

In the marvelous laboratory of the mother's 
system has been prepared milk, sweet, sapid, and 
nutritious, which awakens into its delight the 
sense of taste. Later on, and in sympathy with 
these, comes the sight of the tender and loving 
face of the mother bending over it, and finally the 
sense of hearing is filled with harmonious delight 
t>y the lullaby or tones of endearment. By this 
delightful affecting of the senses, is thus laid in the 
mind of the babe the foundation for every future 
idea of sympathy and beauty. 

During these early years, however little we 
may think of it, the root ideas of substance, form, 
weight, smoothness, roughness, symmetry, har- 
mony, unity, distance, space, taste and smell are 
stored away in the secret crypts of the infant 
brain, forming the substructure for all the educa- 
tion and instruction of later years. Acting on 
these ideas, care should be taken that the body 
"touches the mother's bosom soon after birth. 



42 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

The elaborate and minute bath, so often given 
by painstaking nurses, should not be tolerated. 
Soap and water, and rubbing with rags and 
sponges, are not only unnecessary, but harmful. 
The foolish lot of finery, starched, rustling dresses, 
frills, necklaces and embroidery, to make the baby 
look pretty, should be done away with; simply 
wipe the new-born stranger gently with a soft 
cloth, wrap him in some similar material, and 
put him close to the mother's breast, where he 
may cosily nestle, bringing into existence that 
mighty thing, the "greatest thing in the world," a 
mother's love; where also the senses five may be 
stimulated into their first obscure perceptions. 

Let the mother and the nurse cultivate a 
serene, calm, cheerful disposition, as becomes their 
high station, and the baby will feel its influence, as 
rose petals feel the gentle breeze; harsh feelings, 
ill temper, fretfulness and worry should all be ban- 
ished from this quiet chamber. 

The first playthings should consist of smooth 
balls and blocks for the baby to handle in its puny 
grasp, in place of the irregularly shaped, glittering 
and noisy rattle so often given as the first toy. 
Different elementary colors should next be present- 
ed. Later on, as the child grows, if it be noticed 



CARE OF CHILDREN DURING DENTITION. 43 

that he tires of a toy, it can be put away, and, 
after some days or weeks, presented to him again. 
During the first five years, all ugly, frightful, dis- 
cordant things should be kept out of the sphere of 
the growing man as much as possible; even pic- 
tures of fierce and savage animals, and of venom- 
ous things, such as serpents and toads, had better 
be withheld for a time. The little mind should 
first be filled with images of domestic animals, and 
things of beauty and use to man. 

A beautiful and orderly home, filled with an 
atmosphere of parental affection; judiciously 
selected toys, with patience and wisdom in answer- 
ing questions, are the influences which should sur- 
round the child until the age of six years, when 
education, as ordinarily understood, is usually 
begun. 

CHAPTER III. 

CARE OF CHILDREN DURING DENTITION. 

Before entering upon the duties of motherhood, 
a young woman should endeavor to extend her 
knowledge concerning the new cares and responsi- 
bilities about to devolve upon her. Instruction 
concerning these important topics, so necessary to 
the well-being of woman, is sadly neglected under 



44 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

our modern system of education. There are cer- 
tain fundamental facts relating to her own body, 
and the formation of its organs, that it is very 
important, if not absolutely essential, for a pros- 
pective mother to know, that thus may be laid the 
basis for a practical knowledge of hygiene; both 
for her own benefit, and to insure the health and 
welfare of her infant, such knowledge is indispensa- 
ble. Further than this, it is very necessary to 
domestic happiness that she should be a good 
cook, thoroughly learned in the art of preparing 
wholesome dishes for her family. For this purpose 
she should make a study of physiology, that she 
may understand what kinds of food are best suited 
to the needs of growing children, and for her own 
requirements, especially during the important peri- 
od of pregnancy. She should also be aware of the 
health and comfort to be derived from a wise and 
skillful selection of material for her baby's clothes, 
and be able to acquire the knack of quickly and 
gently dressing and undressing the little stranger. 
She should understand how to use a few simple 
medicines for common ailments ; how to make a 
poultice, the indications which render its use neces- 
sary, and its proper application. Kemember the 
adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound 



CARE OF CHILDREN DUEING DENTITION. 45 

of cure;'' hence that no emergency may find you 
unprepared, keep always on hand a small supply 
of simple remedies. We believe those recommend- 
ed in this book to be the best for this purpose. 

In the rearing of children, it should be the aim 
of the mother to select simple and nutritious foods. 
Under this head would come eggs, milk, barley, 
oats, and wheat, prepared in various appetizing 
ways. Bread made from entire wheat flour is the 
best, containing, as it does, all the essential con- 
stituents of the human system. Teach your chil- 
dren to avoid unsubstantial nicknacks and indi- 
gestible dishes, such as candies, cakes, greasy 
food, and heavy pastry of all kinds. Care in 
maintaining a simple diet is necessary to insure 
the proper growth of the various tissues, as well as 
the bones, muscles, nerves, teeth and hair. The 
diet should be a mixed one, consisting of cereals, 
vegetables, and fruits, the latter to be used plenti- 
fully. 

PROPER CLOTHING 

is an important factor in maintaining the health 
of an infant, v/hich should be, if anything, too 
warmly, rather than too lightly clad. The feet, 
especially in the winter, should be kept warm and 
comfortable, by protecting with woolen stockings; 



46 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

they should be bathed every night if possible, for 
the reason that the feet, owing to the extra size of 
their pores, are great eliminators, ridding the sys- 
tem of much impurity. If no other conveniences 
are at hand, they may simply be bathed with a 
wet sponge and rubbed dry; coarse towels are best. 

Yery frequently, in winter, the base of the 
brain and the spinal cord become chilled, owing to 
insufficient clothing, rendering it very necessary 
that these sensitive parts should be carefully pro- 
tected from cold and draughts by warm clothing, 
reaching high up the back of the neck. Many 
children suffer greatly from weakness of the blad- 
der and kidneys, on account of the lack of warmth 
in these portions of the body, and the feet. Weak- 
ness of this nature many retain through life, 
causing or favoring the development of the various 
diseases to which humanity is subject. Prominent 
among these, is inability to retain the urine, or its 
opposite, difficult evacuation of the bladder, ca- 
tarrh of the bladder and kidneys, and Bright's 
Disease. 

At the age of three months the child usually 
begins to drool, a sign that the process of teething 
has commenced. When this condition is noticed, 
it is well to give the following homoeopathic medi- 



CARE OF CHILDREN DURING DENTITION. 47 

cine : calcarea carbonica, 3x triturated, and cal- 
carea phosphorica, 3x triturated. Obtain one 
ounce of each of these at a reliable homoeopathic 
pharmacy, and give one kind in the morning, and 
the other in the evening. A dose the size of a grain 
of coffee is sufficient. If the child becomes fretful 
and peevish, as children frequently do during the 
period of dentition, give weak chamomile tea 
occasionally in connection with the powders. The 
matricaria or German chamomile is the best, 
though a very convenient way of preparing it is 
from the tincture of the herb. Mix a few drops in 
a cup of warm water, sweeten slightly, and allow 
the child to drink freely. 

Do not urge or tempt the child to eat. As a 
rule, this treatment is followed by a restful, natu- 
ral sleep, and, on waking, a healthful, natural ap- 
petite will result. Such treatment, from the third 
month, though no signs of teething should yet be 
manifest, will act as a preventive against such dis- 
eases as brain fever and convulsions. 

In cases of severe or protracted diarrhoea 
during this period, as a result of taking cold, or 
from improper or too rapid feeding, use the same 
remedies, giving the tea in smaller doses, and more 
frequently. Also use the following poultice: into 



48 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

one quart of corn meal pour boiling water, in 
sufficient quantity to form a proper consistency; 
before spreading, add one teaspoonful of red pep- 
per, and two dessert spoonfuls of mustard, stirring 
until thoroughly mixed. Spread between two 
flannel cloths and lay over the stomach, bowels 
and bladder ; it will not burn or blister the tender 
skin. Then wrap the baby in a woolen blanket or 
shawl, and give a little warm chamomile tea. 

Admit no visitors ; quiet is essential, that you 
may maintain a serene and hopeful frame of mind, 
undisturbed by any influence tending to excite or 
cause anxiety. All nurses should possess serene, 
even temperaments. This treatment has been the 
means of restoring babies to life and health when 
the passages have been as numerous as thirty a 
day, and when life has been despaired of by the 
attending physicians. 

It is seldom necessary to change the poultice, 
but if thought desirable, the same material may be 
heated and a small quantity of pepper added. Do 
not, even in the most serious cases, give way to 
fear, and never allow your good sense to be over- 
ruled by another. Your impressions are generally 
a safe guide to follow; for the Almighty has 
implanted in every mother's heart a natural intu- 



CARE OF CHILDREN DURING DENTITION. 49 

ition intended for the protection of her offspring. 
These fine intuitions belong to motherhood, and 
many a little life has been sacrificed through their 
being overruled by external influences. 

When a child reaches the age of six years, give 
the same powders, one of each kind, once a week, 
until the second teeth appear. The first, or milk 
teeth will remain for use until the new set is formed 
and developed, pushing the first ones out. The 
second teeth come to stay, and when perfect, their 
appearance is a joy to the beholder and a priceless 
boon to the possessor. 

Dentition is not complete till after the second 
teeth have appeared ; its process, whether painless 
or otherwise, is largely dependent upon food, 
clothing, air and exercise. When these are adapt- 
ed to the building up of a sound constitution, den- 
tition is comparatively painless, and if due atten- 
tion is paid to these essentials, medical counsel will 
seldom be required. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HINTS ON DIGESTION. 

A knowledge of this important function is the road to 
health. — Thomas. 

The food we eat undergoes a peculiar process 
called digestion, which serves the purposes of nu- 
trition, xlll solid articles used for food should be 
reduced to a comparatively fine pulp, through the 
action of the teeth. 

While the food is in process of mastication, 
there is mixed with it a considerable amount of 
fluid, called saliva. This fluid is furnished by the 
salivary glands, situated in the mouth. The sali- 
va softens and moistens the food, so that when 
carried into the pharynx, it is passed with ease 
through the aesophagus into the stomach. Proper- 
ly masticated food not only stimulates the lining, 
but excites an action in the glands of the stomach. 
These glands secrete a fluid of great solvent 
power, called gastric juice. The action of this 
fluid, aided by the contractile muscular energy of 
the stomach, converts the various kinds of food 
into a pulpy consistency, called chyme. 



HINTS ON DIGESTION. 51 

The common belief that the stomach contains 
bile is erroneous, as, when in a healthy condition, 
no bile is found in it. If bile be ejected in vomit- 
ing, it not only shows that the action of the stom- 
ach is inverted, but also that of the duodenum. 
The chyme is conveyed through the pyloric orifice 
of the stomach into the upper portions of the 
small intestines, called the duodenum. The chyme 
not onlv excites an action in the duodenum, but 
also in the liver and pancreas. Mucus is secreted 
by the duodenum, bile by the liver, and pancreatic 
fluid by the pancreas. 

The bile and pancreatic fluid are conveyed into 
the duodenum and mixed with the clryle. The 
chyle and residual matter are moved over the 
mucus surface of the small intestine by the action 
of the muscular coat. This movement is called 
peristaltic or vermicular, from its resemblance to 
the motion of a worm. As the chyle is carried 
along the tract of the intestine, it comes in contact 
with the villi, where the lacteal vessels commence. 
These take up the chyle, and transfer it through 
the mesenteric glands into the thoracic duct, 
through which it is conveyed into the large vein at 
the lower part of the neck. In this vein the chyle 
is mixed with the venous fluid, and the whole is 



52 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

called impure venous blood. The residual matter 
is conveyed into the caecum, or first portion of 
the large intestine, and is the natural stimulant 
for producing health of the bowels. Therefore, 
food must not be too concentrated, or too rich, 
but must contain waste matter. For this reason, 
bread made from coarse meal is better for general 
use than that made from fine flour, unless other 
food which contains waste matter is daily taken 

into the system. 

In digestion, five different processes are ob- 
served, as follows : 

First : — Chewing and admixture of the saliva 

with the food. This process is called mastication. 

Second : — The change through which the food 
passes while in the stomach, by its muscular con- 
traction and the secretions from the gastric gland. 
This is called chymification. 

Third: — The conversion of the pulpy chyme, 
by the agency of the bile and pancreatic juice, into 
a fluid of milk-like appearance, called chyle. This 
is chylification. 

Fourth : — The absorption of the chyle by the 

lacteals, and its transfer through them and the 
thoracic duct into the sub-clavian vein. 

Fifth: — The separation and excretion of the 
residuum. 



HINTS ON DIGESTION. 53 

Nutrient food imparts a healthy stimulation 
to the salivary glands, during the process of 
mastication, and if well masticated and blended 
with a proper amount of saliva, it will induce a 
healthy action in the stomach, being its appropri- 
ate stimulus. Well prepared chyme is the natural 
stimulus of the duodenum, liver and pancreas. 
Perfectly elaborated chyle is the appropriate exci- 
tant of the lacteals. Hence, if the processes of 
mastication and insalivation are defective, all the 
changes in the food will be imperfect. 

If chymiflcation or chylification be faulty, the 
changes in the ulterior digestive process will be 
incomplete. The perfection of the digestive pro- 
cess, as well as the health of the general system, 
demands certain necessary conditions. The quan- 
tity of the food taken, its character and quality, 
the manner in which it is taken, and the condition 
of the system when it is taken, are all of great 
importance. 

The boy that exercises constantly and grows 
rapidly, not only needs food to promote the 
growth of the bones and muscles, but material for 
repairing the waste of the system. . We notice in 
the healthy growing child, the frequent call for 
food, the keen appetite and vigorous digestion. 



54 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

When the system is developed and matured there 
is less demand for food, all that is required being a 
quantity sufficient to supply the loss in the action 
of the skin, liver and other organs. 

The active boy or man requires more nourish- 
ment than the one who is indolent, since the waste 
of the former exceeds that of the latter. When an 
individual who has been accustomed to active 
employment, such as agriculture, leaves it for work 
of a sedentar}^ character, as learning a trade, 
attending school, or engaging as a clerk, he 
requires less nutriment than before, owing to the 
fact that the waste of the system is diminished in 
nearly the same proportion as the exercise is 
lessened. Students of both sexes should guard 
against this evil during the first few weeks of 
attendance at school. If the food be deficient in 
waste matter, the tendency is to produce an inac- 
tive and diseased condition of the digestive organs. 
Consequently, nutrient food should have blended 
with it waste material; thus, unbolted wheat flour 
is more healthful than bread made from fine flour, 
and fruits and vegetables are more healthful than 
jellies. 

The importance of this point to men and 
women who follow trades and professions, cannot 



HINTS ON DIGESTION. 55 

be overestimated. It has been illustrated by 
experiments upon the lower animals ; for instance, 
feed a dog with pure sugar or olive oil, articles 
containing no waste matter, for several weeks, and 
the evil effect of concentrated nutriment will be 
manifest. At first the dog will take his food with 
avidity and seem to thrive upon it, but soon his 
desire for food will diminish, his body emaciate, his 
eyes ulcerate, and in a short time death will result; 
but when bran or sawdust is mixed with this 
food, the health and vigor of the animal will be 
good for months. If a horse be fed grain only, 
without hay or straw or material of like character, 
the same results will follow. If at any particular 
season of the year there is a tendency to diarrhoea, 
an article containing the smallest amount of waste 
matter should be selected as food. But if there is 
a tendency to an inactive or constipated condition 
of the bowels, articles of food should be selected 
containing the greatest amount of waste material; 
such articles are more stimulating to the digestive 
organs, consequently more laxative. 

If those articles of food most easily digested 
are always eaten, the digestive powers will become 
weakened; if overworked, they will become ex- 
hausted ; thus both extremes should be avoided. 



56 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Food should be taken at stated periods. The 
interval between meals should be regulated by the 
character of the food, the age, health, exercise and 
habits of the individual. In most instances from 
two to four hours are necessary for the digestion 
of ordinary meals ; in addition to this the stomach 
requires from one to three hours in which to recruit 
its exhausted powers after the labor of digestion is 
complete. 



CHAPTER V. 

AIR AS FOOD. 

Herein is given, in his own words, the extraor- 
dinary and invaluable experience of J. H. Wash- 
burn. He lived on extra breathing for a longer 
period than was ever before attempted by any 
man, and felt splendidly. 

"HaA^ing been born with a feeble constitution, 
the first twenty years of my life were passed sus- 
pended, as it were, by a silken thread, between two 
states, — life and death, so called. Anxious parents 
cared for me according to the best of their knowl- 
edge. They carried me to all the physicians of 
note near our home, and practiced their advice 'till 
hope was worn out, and the little stock of consti- 



AIR AS FOOD. 57 

tution I started with was gone. I then com- 
menced the study of medicine to learn, if possible, 
a way to health. The wrestle I had with big vol- 
umes, large words, and little sense, gave me no 
physical help but some knowledge. Many health 
journals I took and read. Slowly and surely were 
the facts coming to me that the term, "practice of 
medicine," was the right one to express the truth. 
To practice on the poor sufferer is the word. They 
practice on you to change the form of your ills to 
this, that or the other inharmony — disease — or kill 
you outright; often the latter. Through all these 
years I was learning from medical books and by 
word, that disease is an enemy, something extra- 
neous, to be fought as you would fight a grizzly, 
should he enter your home. All this time I was 
hanging by a silken thread so that I could almost 
look through the mist beyond death. Slowly it 
was dawning upon me that Nature cannot be foiled 
or set aside as to her constitution. I began to 
think about cause and effect; I reasoned that if 
certain effects do not, without variableness, follow 
certain causes, how can we have science? If I 
have ill health, I reasoned, such must be a legiti- 
mate sequence of preceding causes and conditions, 
near or remote, or both, in time of occurrence. So 



58 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

I was led to think of the complicated, artificial 
habits of society. I met persons, young, middle- 
aged, and old, with teeth gone, hearing gone or 
impaired, sight gone or going, (as the great mas- 
ter, Shakespeare, expressed it — "sans everything,") 
and every sort of deformity, woe-begoneness 
and misery multiplied. I thought, when we find 
rocks tipped at every conceivable angle, we at- 
tribute it to volcanic action, cooling of the earth, 
etc., as causes or precedents. So through all the 
physical sciences we endeavor to trace conditions 
and facts as far back along the lines of causation as 
possible, thus obtaining a knowledge that gives 
us a solution of the present conditions. Why 
Nature is thus constituted would be an idle 
inquiry. Idle because entirely beyond the grasp 
of the human intellect. Ultimate forces or causes 
in Nature, or in any part of her domain, never 
can be grasped by the mind of man; but in the 
domain of relative causation, wide and vast as 
it is, is comprised man's field of observation, 
action and power. 

Now let us see what we can do with this 
line of thought in the domain of life relating to 
man. A person is afflicted by that form of 
bodily condition called consumption of the lungs. 



AIR AS FOOD. 59 

The immediate condition we notice is disturbed 
breathing. Next in line is a discharge from the 
lungs. Next in order of observation is a sunken, 
narrow, congested chest. Still further back along* 
the line of causation we find that a subtle and 
potent law of inheritance has been at work 
transmitting condition and tendency. Here, trac- 
ing cause, for all practical purposes, may cease. 
The habits in our forefathers that resulted in 
this terrible scourge, lung-waste, though known, 
need not here engage our attention. It is 
enough to know that the first condition of dis- 
turbance was interrupted breathing. The air, 
pure, is the natural food for the lungs, and 
more than half the food for the whole system, 
as we will see further on; the trouble is, our 
patient does not get enough breath, enough of 
this air. Why he does not, or why his inherited 
tendency, is not necessary to our object in this 
inquiry. 

Now, with these plain, common sense premises 
before us, what is the rational road to a normal 
state of harmony or health? Briefly, more air 
in the lungs. Not only are the lungs robbed 
of their natural food, but by and through such 
insufficiency of air, the whole man, mind as well 



60 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

as body, is robbed and dwarfed. I will explain 
here that the air, commonly supposed to be a 
compound of oxygen and nitrogen gases, is now 
known to contain all the elemental substances 
known to exist in nature. Oxygen is one allo- 
tropic form of electricity, magnetism, heat, light, 
motion and force, and these are the principal 
agencies that manifest in every department of 
Nature and the universe. Drawing this air into 
the physical domain through the lungs first, means 
something. Rightly breathed, it means life, health; 
wrongly breathed, it means disease, disorganiza- 
tion, death. The air, so called, contains every 
constituent the life forces need to preserve their 
equilibrium against disintegrating environments 
and tendencies. These elemental constituents with 
and in the air may not be condensed enough to 
furnish all the system requires to carry on life's 
purposes and hold its balance, health, but much 
more nearly so than is known to mankind. Leav- 
ing this digression, let us return to our patient, 
with, we will say, morbid lungs, and hence a morbid 
condition of every function of the system. It is 
a law, that solids yield to fluids. Solids and 
fluids are subservient to ethers, or, what is the 
same, matter in a radiant state. All these states 



AIR AS FOOD. 61 

are so many different expressions of vibratory 
action of the same elemental and ultimate sub- 
stance. 

Now let us apply these reflections practically 
to the case of small lungs and chest. Loosen 
thoroughly every band, corset and appendage 
that obstructs, and never tighten them again. 
Seek an easy position, in a rocking-chair, or on a 
lounge, with shoulders and head a little inclined. 
Now, with perfect calmness, draw, slowly, the air 
into the lungs through the nostrils, deeper and 
deeper; be very careful to give attention to calm- 
ness. You may do yourself much harm here, 
as violent, spasmodic effort, inflating only the 
top of the lungs, will make you more nervous, 
and be harmful. Natural law is imperious and 
enforces exact justice. Do not hold your breath, 
but draw the air in calmly, deeper and deeper, 
and exhale as calmly as possible. The will has 
much influence in allaying nervous and spasmodic 
tendencies in the chest and system, such as a 
tendency to cough, and other manifestations of 
disturbed function. Keep this up a half hour or 
so at a time, and as often as you wish in repeti- 
tion. As you proceed, the ability to breathe 
deeper and deeper and more calmly will be marked. 



62 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Do not fail to use the agency of the will to pre- 
serve a perfectly calm state when you are taking 
these inhalations. Keep these exercises up. No 
great work is accomplished in a day; remember 
you are now to be made a new being; time and 
will are required, and are both indispensable to 
success. A marked change will be perceptible 
very soon if your work is done aright and well. 
At night when you retire, and through the night 
when you waken, you will find this deep breathing 
to be a magic wand; within the reach of all is 
this life elixir of mind and body. Will and a 
little intelligence is the price demanded. This 
habit persisted in, will, in time, give a breathing 
capacity that cannot fail to astonish the one 
who persists in it. Never eat to such excess as 
to cause the least oppression; adherence to this 
rule will greatly facilitate the breathing exercise. 
Eemember, some of our great men and 
women have lived very simple, abstemious lives, 
and accomplished much. Our good and great 
Franklin could withstand lightning because he 
lived on oat-meal gruel. He was more able to 
see the meanness of tyranny, and along with 
Payne and Jefferson, free their own and our necks 
from the yoke of heartless despots, because he 



AIR AS FOOD. 63 

had a clear, oat-meal mind. He was able to write 
"Poor Richard" too, a copy of which work ought 
to be on every centre table in the land. Thoreau, 
the author of "Walden Pond" a famous Work, 
lived at an expense of only twenty dollars a year. 
He lived for the mind, not the stomach. He 
ate to live; too many of us live to eat. The 
animal appetites and propensities of the majority 
of mankind have entire control of the reins of 
government. Many, very many more are killed 
by gluttony than by starvation and the minie 
ball combined. Many of our public men are killed 
by a night of debauchery and gluttony, and the 
cry goes out — "worked to death." I could give 
the names of a number, and of one president who 
thus committed a - most degrading suicide. Yet 
you will be told that these are model society peo- 
ple, and perhaps they are. 

The whole science of chemistry is outwitted 
in many kitchens by cooks preparing viands that 
ruin the functions of body and mind. A hot and 
sickly blood leads to personal excess, and thus 
foetal-life is turned into a nursery of idiots and 
monsters ; yet we cry, "why is insanity so rapidly 
on the increase? " The women of the middle and 
lower classes spend most of their time cooking 



64 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

and eating — a worse than wasted life — while the 
wealthy classes hire their cooking done and often 
live more simply than the poorer class, thus 
enabling them to give more time and ability to 
the accumulation and care of their wealth. At 
our fashionable hotels scarcely a dish of any kind 
fit to enter the human stomach can be obtained. 
Meats and trash ad infinitum is the order. We 
look back with horror to our ancestors who roved 
over Europe and the East, naked and hairy ; who 
were cannibals, killing and eating their tribal 
neighbors. Yet we rear our pet stock, the calf, 
for instance, with its big brown eye ; the deer with 
its swimming eye ; the little chick with its subtle 
sense; the noble horse also,— we rear and propa- 
gate these forms of life about us till they learn to 
trust us, (in this is our case worse than that of the 
cannibal,) then massacre and eat them. We are 
not satisfied with the infinite variety of fruits, 
grains and vegetables that furnish abundantly all 
the elements needed to keep the functions of mind 
and body healthy and clear. Add to this meat 
diet, peppers, spices and pungent sauces which 
pamper and derange, the habit of breathing im- 
pure air in stove-heated rooms, close and unven- 
tilated, need we wonder why, if we think at 



AIR AS FOOD. 65 

all, mankind is sick not only in body, but in mind 
as well? 

With all these causes standing in fearful array 
before us, we go groping about, talking of the 
original fall of man, and hunting for sticking- 
plasters of all sorts and hues to hide the leprous 
sores. A leprous physical life causes leprous re- 
sults in the moral and mental natures. The ten- 
dency of facts and science today is toward the 
belief that the mind or the substance of the spirit 
is organized matter on an ethereal plane of activ- 
ity. Who can say that life in the body is not for 
the purpose of individualizing spirit body, through 
vital, organic processes, from the food Aye eat and 
the air we breathe, tempered with the mental and 
social salt superadded? 

I will now return to my personal experience. 
When I learned, slowly but surely, that "remedies 
and continuance in sin" is not the safest and 
surest way to health and heaven, I commenced to 
experiment. In 1860, I lived four months on 
cooked Irish potatoes alone — not using an ounce 
of any other food during this period — carefully 
noting the effect on my mental and bodily health. 
In all these experiments I was quite as much inter- 
ested in the effect of the habits upon the mind as 



GO CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

upon the body. It is not at all times an easy 
matter for the consciousness to take an accurate 
survey of itself. The truth is, we can only delin- 
eate from comparison; we can only know a thing 
relatively. I then lived on raw, lean, fresh beef, 
for several weeks, and noted results; then on 
apples, uncooked, for six months. Then on corn- 
bread eaten cold and dry, no salt or other foreign 
ingredients ; then on whole wheat flour, or graham 
bread, prepared as the corn-bread; then six 
months on raw, rolled oat meal. Through all 
these carefully conducted experiments, I claim I 
learned some valuable lessons. I am aware that 
these experiences are to be noted in connection 
with my temperament, condition of health, age, 
climate, season of year, and general habits. 
Through all these experiments I improved in 
health, being engaged in quite active, out-door 
exercise of a mild and light sort. I ate, as hinted, 
all the food free from salt, as that condiment 
always disagreed with me. 

The potato diet caused a round, distended 
viscera, especially over the bowels. My mind was 
active and appetite good, though I couldn't see 
that it improved my affection more than ordina- 
rily for the natives of the Emerald Isle ; I remained 



AIR AS FOOD. 67 

about normal in that particular. I ate at an ex- 
act hour and almost exact minute, during 
these experiments, three meals a day, with a 
light supper, as a heavy one disposed me to in- 
somnia. My kidneys seemed to be disturbed with 
this potato diet, a sort of sediment appearing in 
secretions. The meat diet was less desirable and 
more perversive. I was morose, irritable and 
quick tempered. Some may say I should have 
cooked it. This I could not have so long endured, 
as cooked meat is not nearly so easily digested as 
raw. The secretions from my skin were more 
pronounced and noticeable. I could not endure 
so much exercise on this diet as upon the former. 
Liver was not so healthy; kidneys normal. At 
different seasons of the year, different effects might 
have obtained. These experiments took place in 
Indiana, where the changes of the seasons are 
marked. I was then very much affected by these 
changes, my whole being seeming to undergo an 
alteration, and when like periods of the year re- 
turned I seemed to be completely renewed; I state 
these facts that my physical conditions may be 
noted during these experiments in food. I felt well 
on the apple diet, and active in mind and body. 
The apples were a sweet variety, and the time of 



68 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

year, summer and fall to midwinter. The grain 
foods all had a similar effect; I could do more work 
and felt easier and more active when living on 
them. Of the grains I prefer the oat meal eaten 
raw, as it is more nutritious and healthful eaten 
dry. Next in value is the whole wheat diet; it, 
too, is best eaten raw. With all this rigid experi- 
menting I gained vitality. The mental discipline 
was excellent. If a sinner can refrain from all the 
pampered foods of the average table he will have 
some self-command to begin with, and will gain in 
stock as he proceeds. My mother was as skilled 
in compounding "goodies" as good mammas 
usually are. 

I now "took to the woods." I went to the 
Pacific coast, secured a rig, and gypsied or "Mark 
Twained" that coast for several years, sleeping 
out-of-doors all the while, casting my tent where 
needed. During this time my diet was rolled oats, 
in the main, living low that I might think high, 
with a regular, cold, morning bath to brighten the 
eye. For this purpose I carried water in a jug, as 
there are many places in California where water, in 
overland traveling, is one of the rarely found nec- 
essaries. On this account I w T as greatly concerned 
for my mustangs. I rarely or never had occasion 



AIR AS FOOD. 69 

to take liquids, my morning bath, even with my 
dry diet, preventing all thirst. I shall not here 
detail the rich lessons I learned from the rocks, 
gorges, mountains, plains, fossils, petrified forests, 
caves, Indian relics, water-falls and Gigantic Se- 
quoise or big trees of that trip, as it would be for- 
eign to the character of this article, or in fact the 
entire work; still that roving trip brightened my 
eyes and set the sylphs of health dancing. 

I now draw the veil for the present on the 
scenes of this continent, and ask the reader to re- 
join me on the banks of the classic Murray river in 
Australia, camped in the midst of that curious 
and numerous family, the marsupial Kangaroos. 
Camped on a small mountain stream, surrounded 
by some of our great, great grandmother's chil- 
dren, the little monkeys, I had the pleasure (?) of 
experiencing a violent attack of small-pox. There 
they call it black. Common small-pox is good 
enough for most purposes, but black small-pox is 
extra plenty and satisfying. All alone, far aw T ay 
from any human being, I was stricken with a 
violent fever. Some one who knew, said "necessi- 
ty is the mother of invention,' and so it was with 
me. I took my spade — I had a rig and camping 
outfit — and dug out a bed in the clay bank ; then, 



70 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

stirring the water from the stream Avith the clay 
into a mortar, I wallowed in this mud and bathed 
till the fever vanished. The plan I adopted was as 
follows : Having bathed until my entire body was 
covered with a thick coat of mud, I rolled out on 
the bank in the warm sun, exposing all parts of 
my body to his rays, thus warming me all over 
thoroughly. Repeating this process many times I 
would then roll in the stream, wash all the mud 
off, and entering my blankets, sleep the "sleep of 
the just," and the free. A little oatmeal eaten 
raw, which I carried with me, and the clay mud 
baths, effected a cure that for completeness of 
work I will place in comparison with any case a 
learned M.D., with his array of chemical nostrums, 
ever had. From the very first bath I experienced 
relief. Instead of the usual fever and pustule 
eruptions, bluish spots appeared but never rup- 
tured, and of course left no scars. Life seemed 
to flow into me in charming waves. At the end 
of ten days I was well, clear and easy. No long, 
lingering sequelae, which might appropriately be 
called mismanagement, drug or remedy disease — 
often worse than the original — afflicted me. Here 
in my mud bath I learned the first lessons of a 
habit that has been a source of most important 



AIR AS FOOD. 71 

knowledge to me, restoring me to the best of 
health, being to me a panacea at all times and 
under all conditions. It is no less than the prac- 
tice of deep breathing as previously detailed in 
this article. It revolutionized all the functions 
and economy of my being. 

I now wended my way, after recovering from 
the attack of small-pox, up fully into the regions 
of abode of the cunning little monkeys, and their 
co-dwellers, the native Australians, there to study 
them in their native haunts. Here again I cast 
my tent, and while I breathed in Nature through 
the mind and to the mind, I also breathed in the 
life forces through my nostrils. I experimented, 
and, as Lord Bacon, the "father" of modern 
thought, said, "experiment is the mother of inven- 
tion," found my ability to breathe deeper and 
longer at each inhalation rapidly increasing. An 
important change in all the excretions of the 
system was taking place. Especially was this 
change marked in the appearance and functions of 
that important gown and organ, the skin. Capil- 
lary circulation was rapidly changing, the skin 
becoming clear and bright as red blood appeared 
and caused the cold, clammy surface, such as had 
always afflicted me, to disappear. My kidneys, 



72 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

also, were learning to quicken their step to the 
new music. The brain, too, could not escape, but 
joined in and enjoyed the new elixir of life. With 
these experiences came renewed courage. I did 
not relapse into neglect and indifference as do 
most people while conducting experiments. As 
my capacity to breathe deeper and longer at each 
inhalation increased, I found a tendency creeping 
into my being to eat less and less food ; this incli- 
nation I indulged. Already living only on raw 
rolled oats (how sweet they seemed) in moderate 
quantities, I now commenced to fasten earnest 
and increased the breathing exercises. A viscera 
nearly empty of food very much facilitates easier 
and deeper breathing. Gradually I substituted 
breathing for eating. I commenced to fast a day 
or so at a time, always leading an active life, 
studying the zoology of Australia, geology, bot- 
any, and my little tricky friends, the monkeys. I 
had an eye out, too, after that curious biped, the 
native Australian. If I grew weary I found an 
easy place, sat down, and, reclining a little, with 
e}^es shut to avoid positive light on the retina, 
renewed my life. Slowly, quietly, deeply, without 
diaphragm movement, one, two, three, four min- 
utes at a time would I inhale the air at one breath. 



AIR AS FOOD. 73 

This repeated half an hour at a sitting filled me 
with dancing vigor. I arose again to activity. I 
found directly that I could fast several days at a 
time, not only without disadvantage, but with 
absolute gain. I was learning of a new world 
heretofore unknown to mortal man. I soon re- 
quired less sleep, and would spend hours at night 
in my tent, or blankets, thus deeply breathing. 
So quieting, so inspiring, such a calm, exhilarat- 
ing anodyne, with no collapse, I found this to be. 
A new way discovered; a new way to live, a new 
way to cure nervousness, weak lungs, kidneys, 
eruptions and all inharmonies so glibly prated of 
as disease ; disease, so called, being Nature's best 
efforts for relief under such environments. 

I kept up this fasting and breathing for seven 
years while roving over Australia and Borneo, 
where I saw the Bushmen, or tree dwellers — human 
— and chimpanzees, semi-human ; also visiting the 
Philippine Islands, China, Japan and India. In 
1870 I returned to America, with, I think, some 
accumulated knowledge. I learned that the mem- 
bers of the human family in all parts of the globe I 
visited, are, substantially, alike. Ideas of right 
and Avrong in the main, are alike. Pain and suffer- 
ing alike afflict all. A failure to trace effects along 



74 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

back the line of causation in mental and bodily 
distempers is alike observable everywhere, as well 
among Australians as Bornese. We find this 
among the children of China, Japan, and India, 
not excepting America's Anglo-Saxon babes who 
hunt heaven and rest on the 'microbe train — a 
train that is, first, an effect and not a cause. So 
also in the ethical spheres we are constantly fig- 
uring effects as causes, and figuring as causes, 
mythical creations. While the human being is 
thus constituted, mental and bodily diseases will 
prevail. Whenever we attain the true education — 
the constitution of our being, mind and body, and 
how related to Nature — harmony or heaven will 
begin. All men and all women must know these 
truths for themselves before we are safe. No 
D. D's., no M. D's. can save us. We must know, 
and having knowledge, must do daily, hourly, 
that which will save us, save us from our only 
enemy, self. 

I landed in Los Angeles and purchased a little 
fruit farm. Here I kept up my breathing and 
fasting habits, continuing the fasting periods over 
more and more time at each trial, until, during 
the fall of 1872, I reached a greater fast than any 
previously experienced. This fast lasted forty- 



AIR AS FOOD. 75 

three days without loss of a pound of flesh, and 
without eating an ounce of food of any kind, or 
drinking a drop of fluid of any sort. All tissue 
and every need of the body was supplied to my 
system in the air I breathed, in quantities now 
astonishingly great. I had a sense that I could 
taste my blood, which seemed to be as sweet as 
nectar. I mean my blood as it coursed through 
my veins. I could draw in the air six to eight 
minutes at each inhalation, seeming not to exhale 
nearly the volume inhaled. It appeared to me 
that the air was used to make tissue for my whole 
body, now deprived of the food usually so used. 
My mind was active, clear, and, as I thought, 
ranged upon a high plane of being. I had quite 
active, daily exercise out-of-doors, walking often 
five miles to the mountains and returning the 
same day. I could skip almost as well as walk, 
being buoyant and light of limb. I slept, it 
seemed to me, all over the universe, and about 
four hours out of the twenty-four, passing much of 
the remainder of the night feeding upon every 
substance in nature now known to exist in pure 
air, or, more properly speaking, in space. 

I had not a trace of pain during the whole 
period of fasting, or rather feasting ; on the con- 



76 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

trary, never felt better. I was as buoyant the 
last day as the first. I now believe that I could 
at that time have lived .right on with no more of 
the old-fashioned table food. I became alarmed 
at my very self and the position I was in, and re- 
turned to my usual sin and diet ; the diet being 
the sin. I have never at any time since felt so 
grand, so clear of mind, so serene, and so nearly a 
first cousin to a sunbeam. I look back to that 
period as the day when the sun rose and shed his 
effulgence athwart the landscape of my life never 
to be effaced or obscured from my memory. I 
have fasted many times since, five, ten, twenty, 
and twenty-five days at a time with good results 
and no inconveniences, but not Avith the grand ex- 
perience of the forty-three day's fast. All who 
know me today know of my abstemious habits 
and that I fast, entirely fast, half the time. I 
never have the least occasion for a drug. I fast 
awhile and feast on the life-giving air, never fail- 
ing to find restoration to health and harmony — 
for the terms are synonymous. 

It is almost impossible to live in a community 
and maintain habits in direct opposition to the 
habits of its members. To accomplish the great- 
est results from experiments in living on air, I 



AIR AS FOOD. 77 

think it is necessary to begin very early in life. 
Let the father and mother, to be, fast much for six 
months before copulation, and, during the gesta- 
tiye period, let the mother use the deep breathing 
as much as possible, thus forming traits which, 
transmitted to early fetal life may accomplish such 
wonders as no extravagance of prediction could 
approach in truth. I belieye, with the above 
methods, a being may be produced, and therefore 
a race of people, who can find all elements needed 
to maintain life by largely increased breathing 
functions and habits. Any air that can be 
breathed at all contains moisture enough to meet 
every requirement of the system after it becomes 
established in the new habits. As a partial illus- 
tration of this theory, I have observed squirrels in 
the deserts of Australia that cannot get a drop of 
"water for ten months in the year, eating only very 
dry seeds, and breathing only very dry air, for 
such it is ; and I have shot them and found them 
fat. Moreover, my experiments demonstrate this 
to be possible. In my longest period of fasting, 
during the first ten days or thereabouts, there was 
some action of the bowels, lessening in amount 
constantly, and finally ceasing altogether. My 
kidneys were slightly active during the whole 



78 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

period, but I think the action would have ceased 
in time had I continued to fast. My skin was soft, 
clean and scarlet. My liver, formerly more or less 
torpid, was now an entirely healthy one, and I was 
altogether unconscious of possessing such an 
organ. Tanner's forty day's fast was painful 
because he failed to make the necessary demand 
upon the air, to supply the needs of his system. 

An entirely new form of life cannot safely be 
predicated upon a single case, but I am satisfied 
that human life can be maintained on a plane now 
unknown and above any degree thus far sensed, 
even by the poet's brain. The magic wand of 
science has demonstrated that cosmic matter, 
world substance, exists everywhere in space. This 
world substance contains, in embryo, every sub- 
stance known in an v form, from crystallized granite 
up to the highest brain ultimate of the genus 
homo. Does not my experience sustain, if it does 
not demonstrate, this position? Does it not prove 
that this cosmic matter can be taken directly into 
the system through the lungs in sufficient quan- 
tity, and in this laboratory of the system be 
converted into life expressions without going the 
rounds of planetary and then vegetable forms, 
etc.? Who dares to say in these days, what is or 



AIR AS FOOD. 79 

is not possible? Science is on her feet and calls for 
facts, wheresoever they may be found or wherever 
they may lead. Science has no pet dogmas or prec- 
edents to defend. She has no rut prepared for her 
wheels which she cannot leave if facts invite her to 
do so. The infinite, in Nature's possibilities, is her 
creed. If seven brilliant colors meet, kiss, and com- 
bine to make transparent light, she desires a knowl- 
edge of it. If a certain process in chemistry can 
produce, from coal-tar, a sweet substance seven 
hundred times sweeter than pure cane sugar, science 
welcomes the new fact with joy. If man, in whom 
is supposed to exist all known forces, can live and 
maintain his balance in nature in some other way 
than the old one, another ray of light will have 
dawned to aid science in her search for truth. 
Take the amphibian frog, and follow him through 
his six distinct changes. Hatched in the water, he 
at first resembles a fish ; has gills. Anterior legs 
come, then posterior. The tail is absorbed. All 
traces of former gills are now gone. He next pos- 
sesses full lungs. Having no ribs, like the turtle, 
he swallows the air. It would be but a little great- 
er change, involving but a little more time, for 
man to lose his viscera, and the lungs enlarge to 
take their place and perform their function. 



80 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

This experience of mine is another lesson in a 
new field, adding its evidence to the widening mass 
of accumulating facts showing that we exist in a 
universe of infinite possibilities. We have learned 
one important lesson, namely, that we know almost 
nothing of the infinite range of Nature's forces that 
can be used to produce new and hitherto unknown 
results. Every night, wherever I may be, when I 
awaken, I resort to my habit, now a loved one, to 
make the remarkably long draughts upon Nature's 
plentiful and universal panacea. I soon feel new 
life coursing through every avenue of my being. If 
there are any clouds in my mental horizon, they 
are soon silver tipped. Have I symptoms of phys- 
ical inharmony, I close my mouth as to food, open 
my nostrils wider as to air, and in a remarkably 
short time I find myself at least as thoroughly 
renewed as those who repeat again and again the 
causes of disease and then seek drugs to divert the 
inevitable effects. My method always gives addi- 
tional strength to the vital forces instead of reduc- 
ing them as the drug plan cannot fail to do. Your 
illness is caused by an excess of foreign matter in 
the system, and the vital forces, or spiritual forces 
more properly speaking, are overtaxed to preserve 
their perfect movement through the body. You 



AIR AS FOOD. 81 

now add a drug to the stock of foreign matter 
already on hand, and the vital intelligence reasons 
thus: "I cannot cast off both the old and this 
additional poison in the way I was working before 
this drug was added, now I'll have to try another 
plan or leave the body ;" so your disease is shifted, 
made worse, or you die, or perhaps get well in 
spite of drugs. 

An M. D., wise or otherwise as you view it, will 
tell you he gives you a drug that will have a 
certain effect on the svstem. Let us examine this 
false premise. Were you to place the same drug in 
a sack of meal would it act there? Certainly not, 
but why not act there as well as in the human 
system, if it is the drug that acts? If it is the inert 
drug that acts, why not in the one place as well as 
the other? No, the whole theorv is a mistaken 
and delusive one. If you are riding a swift horse 
swiftly, the trees, fences, and other objects 
seem to be flying past you, while, in fact, you 
know the contrary to be true. Now take inert 
drugs into a living, intelligent domain, and the 
life forces instantly say, "Here is foreign matter. 
I cannot use this for repairs, or for any purpose 
whatever, in my house. I must expel it from my 
sensitive organism, my delicate sanctuary . ' ' There 



82 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

is no time to be lost parleying with this robber 
tramp. In this emergency bile is thrown into the 
stomach, a, violent contraction of the muscles sets 
in, and the enemy is ejected. So with the purga- 
tives, soporifics, anodynes, etc., to the end of the 
endless list. What is the effect of all this enormous 
strain? An extra draft is made upon the vital 
forces, that is often so disastrous that the normal 
functions may never be restored, and you may go 
through life a wrecked and hopeless invalid. Take 
a case of scarlet fever. The sequela?, as doctors 
call it, or, in other words, the diseases that follow 
this complaint, are often far worse than the origi- 
nal fever, often leaving the victim a total wreck 
for years, or for life. 

The vital forces have a struggle with foreign 
matter, called disease. This foreign matter is, 
eight times out of ten, the result of eating about 
eight times more than the system requires to 
supply all waste. To this condition you now add 
drugs, increasing the amount of foreign matter; 
the balance thus is often too great against the life 
forces, and the spirit, becoming discouraged, leaves 
the body in search of a domain where more 
rational thought obtains, and a mysterious provi- 
dence gets the credit or discredit of the premature 



AIR AS FOOD. 83 

work. So through the whole interminable list of 
ailments. When you are well, learn how to keep well. 
When you are surfeited in the least, fast a day or 
several days, giving the vital forces rest ; practice 
deep breathing according to the directions I have 
given, and you will live until you are fully ripe, like 
a cocoon, and your second birth will be as natural 
as the first and give your mother, Nature, no pain 
from error as vour first mother doubtless had. In 
this way you will avoid the sin of remedies, and 
you and your posterity will escape the brand of ill 
health. Remember the system, or positive force, 
acts on drugs, on inert substance, and not vice 
versa as M. D's. assert. Keep your mind and 
body positive to opposing forces — don't forget 
this — by right mental and physical hygiene, and 
you will lead a happy and healthful life, and be a 
success independent of M. D's. or D. D's., your own 
law discoverer and law observer. Should you find 
merit in my breathing and fasting experiences, do 
not think you can rise in the morning, miss your 
breakfast, take two or three spasmodic inhalations 
of air, eat at dinner two meals in one and thus cure 
a bad case of spinal curvature. You cannot move 
a mountain at one blast, even with genuine dyna- 
mite. A world was made by right means in a few 



84 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

hundred millions of years, and man, in his present 
state, stands on top of the bush of life and is the 
last effort of the forces at work through all these 
ages to produce an ideal fruit; though some people 
think even after the expenditure of so much time 
that the fruit is after all but a persimmon, half 
grown, "puckery" and bitter enough. I shall not 
pass judgment upon that question, but will say 
that you cannot hope for any great boon, like that 
of good health, unless you work for and earn it. 
There is no excellence without effort. The very 
effort has peace and value in it. It is not the flesh 
altogether that the sportsman looks forward to 
with such keen anticipation, but rather the wild 
chase that exhilarates him. 

I now revert to the clay poultice, and recom- 
mend it as a harmless but potent means of cure in 
case of wounds of any character, old sores, swollen 
joints, (from any cause) fevers, etc. Get pure 
yellow clay, clear of surface soil or mold, place in a 
pan, pour warm water over it and stir well till it 
becomes smooth ; spread on a cloth and apply 
directly to the raw flesh. Whether it be a fresh or 
an old wound makes no difference; immediate relief 
will follow. Pour water between the flesh and 
poultice w T hen it begins to dry, and renew often. 



AIR AS FOOD. 85 

It is a magic balm, and were it costly, would be 
sought with avidity. 

Another potent equalizer is a foot-bath as 
follows : Have two shallow pans, one containing 
very cold, and the other very hot water. Dip your 
feet from one to the other, holding them in each 
pan as long as possible. Have a kettle on the 
stove containing boiling hot water; as you proceed 
with the bath you can gradually endure a greater 
degree of heat and of cold. Keep the temperature 
at the greatest extremes you can endure. Continue 
this an hour at a time two or three times a day, 
fast two or three days, and your la grippe will loose 
its grip. I have cured numerous cases thus, some 
taken when very severe, while I have known others 
to lie for weeks under other treatment, the result 
being a broken down constitution for the remain- 
der of their days in the flesh. All congestion of 
internal organs, such as pleurisy, cholera morbus, 
cramps of any description, headache, etc., can be 
easily cured through this simple plan. I do not 
expect many to practice it because it is too simple 
and cheap ; there is not enough black magic in it. 

As people believe some form of remedy to be 
indispensable, I give one other. It is* very effica- 
cious in ail diseased conditions. Get a good 



86 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

syringe, and upon retiring at night inject into the 
bowels a half pint of pure, soft water, lukewarm. 
Hold this over night. Upon rising in the morning, 
take two quarts and hold as long as possible. 
This will cure Bright's disease if continued faith- 
fully, and will insure old age with a bright eye and 
mind if persevered in. Dr. Shew, hydropathist, 
first announced this to the public. His method 
has been much plagiarized by other parties in 
recent years. 

Reader, let me now say that you are in exist- 
ence for all time, and you should strive to think 
rationally on all themes concerning life. Health, 
both of mind and body, concerns us more than 
any other theme. Unless we possess it, we cannot 
fail to be vacillating, undecided, the prey and 
victim of our oavii weakness. Cultivate in vourself- 
independent thought, broaden the mind, and live 
to make somebody happier and better for your 
being. Fear nothing under the blue dome of the 
stars but .yourself. You alone are to determine 
whether black or white, success or failure, marks 
your path in life. Ignorance is the great arch- 
fiend, who, hid in the jungles of rudimental growth, 
entices us into thorny paths where, lost to a 
knowledge of our true state, we grope around in 



AIR AS FOOD. 87 

the mazes of darkness, a ready prey to supersti- 
tion, precedent, and the vagaries that float about 
and around us, rife as malaria. Common sense is 
a good stock in trade to keep always on hand. 
A knowledge of our right place in Nature and the 
placing of ourselves in such place, is the true and 
only savior. Remember, the thought world is first 
in importance, but it must use means to accom- 
plish its ends. Even now a mental epidemic is 
abroad in the land. The leading symptoms are 
indicated by this sort of pulse: "There is no dis- 
ease, it is all imagination." If you eat six times 
more than you should of every kind of a mess unfit 
to enter the delicate physical economy, and get 
fever and pain as the result, "It is all a delusion, a 
cross-thought and an actual nothing." This kind 
of talk is real idiocy. When Garfield received in 
his body a small lump of lead, all the minds of this 
nation, as well as the civilized globe, united in 
prayer against that little bullet; yet the bullet was 
greater than them all combined. More common 
sense, friends, more common sense ! 



CHAPTER VI. 

BATHING. 

The entire body may be considered an excre- 
tory apparatus. The lungs, skin, liver, kidneys 
and bowels are but the more prominent organs for 
the elimination and outlet of the superfluous, 
wasted or noxious materials of the system. The 
two first mentioned organs only, constitute the 
subject matter of the present exposition. Begin- 
ning with the lungs, we will give so much of their 
anatomy and physiology as is necessary for the 
explanation of their functions. All that is neces- 
sary concerning the functions of the lungs can be 
stated in few words, since we have much to say on 
the skin, an organ much more under our control, 
and therefore much more subject to abuse. 

The waste of the body consists principally of 
carbon. This is indicated by the dark color of 
the blood as it returns from its rounds of circula- 
tion through the body, exhausted, devitalized and 
loaded with the impurities of decomposition, as 
well as with the refuse of the materials of recon- 
struction, chiefly carbonaceous. 



BATHING. 89 

The Divine architect of our bodies has taken 
corresponding precautions for the elimination of 
this waste. The apparatus provided to this end is 
at once the simplest and most comprehensive, 
namely, the skin, by means of which the blood is 
exposed to the influence of the atmosphere. This 
is all that is necessary for the outlet of the poison- 
ous elements of decay. The air-cells of the lungs 
and the pores of the skin are respectively the great 
means whereby this purpose is accomplished, and 
it is their function to fulfil this office conjointly. 
Aeration of the blood is, then, the first essential of 
life. Remove a fish from the water, and the gill 
plates, which are its lungs, dry and cohere, render- 
ing aeration of the blood impossible, consequently 
causing death. 

In the earth-worm, leech, and other of the low- 
er forms of life, we find equally efficient means for 
the aeration of the blood, but nothing strictly in 
the nature of lungs. 

The change from venous to arterial blood is 
effected by small sacs, or vesicles, usually placed in 
pairs along the back, opening upon the surface of 
the body by means of pores upon the skin, called 
spiracles or breathing tubes. Close these spiracles 
and life is as effectually destroyed as by obstruct- 



90 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

ing a man's windpipe, or as by drying up the gills 
of a fish. 

In the earth-worm there are no less than one 
hundred and twenty of these minute external 
openings between the segments of the body; in the 
leech there are only sixteen on each side. Through- 
out the whole animal kingdom there is an intimate 
relation between the energy of the vital functions 
and the activity of the respiratory apparatus. In 
cold-blooded reptiles, as the frog, respiration is 
reduced to the very minimum — the vital functions 
being correspondingly languid. 

In insects, on the contrary, we find a large 
provision made for breathing, and the vital action 
excessive, even vehement. It is estimated that the 
vibrations of the wings of the common fly number 
one thousand in a second of time. As an example 
of excessive vital action, witness the activity of a 
hive of angry bees, or a hill of hungry, thrifty ants, 
and the large amount of heat they evolve. The 
quantity of oxygen consumed by them exceeds, in 
proportion to their size and weight, the amount 
consumed by any other creature. 

We find in animals of a higher order, that the 
blood is aerated by a minute capillary net-work of 
vessels spread on the walls of the pulmonary vesi- 



BA THING. 91 

cles or cells. In man, it is estimated that eighteen 
hundred of these bladder-like dilatations are 
grouped around the extremity of each air tube, 
making in all some six hundred millions. Of these 
tubes, the larger possess muscular fibers, hence, are 
contractile, and therefore liable to spasms. Thus 
originates the usual form of asthma. The average 
amount of carbon given off from the lungs of an 
adult is about half a pound each day. 

The exhalations from the surface (the skin) is 
a much more powerful agent in the circulation of 
the blood through the lungs than is the propulsive 
power of the heart. This fact alone speaks vol- 
umes in favor of the actual necessity of bathing, 
thus keeping the skin clean and free from obstruc- 
tion. It is both an incorrect and unworthy view 
of this great organ, the skin, to regard it simply 
as a protective covering of the body. It is much 
more — a living, sensitive, breathing, exhaling, ab- 
sorbing, excreting, eliminating membrane of ex- 
quisite structure and endowments. Here many of 
the prime operations of life take place. 

The skin may truly be called a great append- 
age to the heart and lungs, being a co-worker with 
them in the circulation of the blood. It does for 
the larger or systematic capillary circulation what 



92 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the lungs do for the smaller, or pulmonary circula- 
tion. It not only rids the blood of carbon and 
supplies it with oxygen, but regulates its density 
by evaporating the watery constituents. The skin 
is the great drying, draining and ventilating ap- 
paratus of the body ; it is in itself a universally 
expanded lung, kidney, liver, heart and bowels, 
and the greatest medium of nervous and vascular 
expansion ; therefore the seat of thrilling sensibili- 
ties, and exquisite tactile endowments. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CHANGE OF LIFE. 

The object of this chapter is to teach woman 
how to preserve her health and strength through 
the critical period termed "change of life." This 
change is perfectly normal, as much so as the one 
occurring between the ages of ten and sixteen, and 
should be so regarded. 

A few simple rules will apply to all cases, of 
whatever temperament. Nature is primitive in her 
operations, our aches and pains being simply her 
voice calling upon the intelligent forces, our 
thoughts, for assistance. The unpleasant symp- 
toms are liable to make their appearance at any 



CHANGE OF LIFE, 93 

time between the age of forty and fifty-five years, 
or earlier, and are usually as follows: headache, 
nervous irritability, fainting spells, irregularity of 
the menstrual periods, and later on, hot flashes, 
hemorrhages, sharp pains through the uterus and 
at the base of the brain, severe nervousness in the 
legs and feet, backache, etc. 

With the appearance of the first symptoms, 
begin treatment, which should be continued until 
change is established. This prevents abnormal 
growths, such as tumors, polypi, cancers, flooding, 
and many other conditions which render the 
change critical, and even dangerous to many 
women. Listen to the voice of Nature, and early 
take proper precautions to prevent future suffer- 
ing. Many women, when contemplating this 
change, believe it will result fatally or in a serious 
disease ; at least that perfect health will never be 
re-established. The reason so much suffering is 
experienced during this period is that women do 
not understand how to properly prepare the sys- 
tem to undergo it with undiminished health. If 
Nature's laws are not violated, there will be no 
trouble whatever. 

Nature has four ways of removing obstruc- 
tions; namely, the lungs, alimentary canal, kidneys, 



94 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

and the several million pores of the skin. With a 
proper understanding and management of these 
organs, no one need fear. The dress should eon- 
form to the laws of our being, — constructed to fit 
the body, and not the body the dress. Develop 
the muscular system by proper breathing and 
exercise. 

Change of life is one of Nature's requirements, 
hence the necessity of attending carefully to the 
enriching of the blood and glandular secretions by 
nutritious food, and by keeping the skin clean and 
free for the perfect elimination of all superfluous 
secretions. Women at this period should take 
enemas, both by means of the rectum and the 
vagina. Many suppose that these weaken the 
system; on the contrary, they render it healthy, 
washing away all eliminations of the mucous 
tissues. This is as necessary as cleansing the skin. 
Very warm water should be injected if troubled 
with gases ; a little borax or bi-carbonate of soda 
dissolved in the water will neutralize acidity and 
overcome this condition. If sore or irritated, use 
slippery elm injections, making them thin enough 
to pass easily through the syringe. Fountain 
syringes are best. 

In cases of hot flashes, heartburn, and sleep- 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 95 

lessness, a disordered stomach is generally found 
to be the cause. A rest from eating for twenty- 
four hours, with a one grain dose of nux vomica, 
taken two or three times during the day, will 
overcome these difficulties. If great prostration 
occurs, the system should be treated with a good 
tonic, the patient obtaining as much pure air as 
possible, with moderate exercise. Thus strength 
will gradually return. 

As to diet, entire wheat, or graham bread, with 
eggs, milk, broths and gruels should be taken, 
according to appetite; also fruits and nuts. 
Meats, except wild game, should be avoided, as a 
rule, though their indulgence sometimes produces 
a tonic action, causing an appetite for other 
things; when this results their use is beneficial. 
The mind should not continually dwell upon self, 
•but should be diverted with pleasant company, 
reading, riding, etc. The atmosphere of music 
also is very beneficial. Elevate the spirit, and the 
body will grow strong. Always dress comfortably, 
keeping the feet warm by wearing shoes that allow 
free circulation of the blood. Try to maintain 
regularity of the bowels by eating properly, and 
not by dependence upon medicines only. Muscular 
exercise and deep breathing are also essential. 



96 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Hot bathing only is allowable at this period. 
Turkish, vapor, and hot sitz baths are the most 
beneficial, but if these cannot be obtained, bathe 
in hot water, in a very warm room, rubbing the 
skin thoroughly with a turkish bath towel or 
flannel. Fleshy people can use water freely, but 
thin, weak people should rub oils well into the skin 
after taking a hot bath. Bathing twice a week is 
necessary. We also wish to impress upon your 
minds that 3 r ou can be as healthy at fifty as at 
fifteen years of age, with an improved mental 
education, experience and culture, which should 
add to your attractions. 

During the period marked by change of life, 
there should be as little indulgence in the sexual 
relation as possible, none at all being preferable. 
It is better to invite menstruation as long as 
possible. By doing this you exercise a most excel-' 
lent safeguard against congestions, inflammations, 
and developments of uterine tumors and cancers. 
Injections should always be used after a discharge 
from the vagina, whether of the menstrual or 
leucorrhoeal character. These injections Avill pre- 
vent the great amount of itching, pain and smart- 
ing from which most women suffer so much during 
this period. Do not fear to use water freely; a 



CHANGE OF LIFE, 97 

gallon at a time will not be too much, using, if 
possible, a fountain syringe, it being the most con- 
venient means for injections. Commence with 
water comfortably warm, gradually increasing the 
temperature until quite hot. Have no fear that 
the douche will induce hemorrhage, for there is no 
means known to the medical profession so prompt 
in checking uterine hemorrhage as copious in- 
jections of hot water. 

When change of life is so far advanced that the 
secretions from the womb and vagina are sharp 
and acrid, causing increased soreness and inflam- 
mation, add to the water a little borax or bi-car- 
bonate of soda. Use this treatment every other 
day, wearing a wet towel over the sore parts at 
night, which may be wet in either hot or cold 
water, as is most agreeable. In connection with 
bathing and injections, use the third trituration of 
vivibanum opulus, also of Pulsatilla, one grain at 
a dose, the vivibanum to be taken at night, and 
the Pulsatilla in the morning. These medicines 
come prepared in any Homoeopathic Pharmacy, 
and should be taken during one week of each 
month. If excessive thirst is experienced, cold 
water, (without ice) acidulated with a few drops of 
phosphoric acid, and sweetened with a little sugar, 



98 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

may be drank freely. This makes a pleasant, 
healthful drink. 

To relieve pain at the base of the brain, and 
along the spine, bathe freely in alcohol diluted one 
third with water, producing gentle friction. As a 
tonic, use the third trituration of nux vomica, 
morning and evening, in doses the size of a coffee 
bean. Also an elixir of calisaya and iron, one tea- 
spoonful three times a day before eating. For 
other remedies, turn to the Materia Medica of this 
book. 

I subjoin the following beautiful thoughts on 
health and beauty, by Prentice Mulford: 

"Your thoughts shape your face and give it the 
expression peculiar to it. Your thoughts deter- 
mine the attitude, carriage, and shape of your 
whole bodv. 

"The law for beauty and the law for perfect 
health are the same. Both depend entirely upon 
the state of }^our mind : or, in other words, on the 
kind of thoughts you put out and receive. 

''Ugliness of expression comes of unconscious 
transgressions of a law, be the ugliness in the 
young or the old. Any form of decay in a human 
body, any form of weakness, anything in the per- 
sonal appearance of men and women which makes 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 99 

them repulsive to you, is because their prevailing 
mood of mind has made them so. 

"Nature plants in us what some call 'instinct ;' 
we call it the higher reason, because it comes of 
the exercise of a finer set of senses than our outer 
or physical senses, a dislike to everything that is 
repulsive or deformed, or that shows signs of 
decay. This is the inborn tendency in human 
nature to shun the imperfect, and see the relatively 
perfect. 

"Your higher reason is right in disliking wrink- 
les or decrepitude or any form or sign of the body's 
decay ; for the same reason you are right in dislik- 
ing a soiled or torn garment. Your body is the 
actual clothing, as well as the instrument used by 
your mind or spirit. It is the same instinct, or 
higher reason, making you like a w T ell-formed and 
beautiful body, that makes you like a. new and 
tasteful suit of clothes. 

"You and generations before you, age after 
age, have been told it was an inevitable necessity, 
that it was the law, and in the order of nature for 
all times and for all ages, that, after a certain 
period of life, your body must wither and become 
unattractive, and that even your minds must fail 
with increasing years. You have been told that 



100 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

your mind had no power to repair and recuperate 
your body — to make it over again, and make it 
newer and fresher continually. 

"It is no more in the inevitable order of nature, 
that human bodies should decay as they have 
decayed in the past, than that man should travel 
only by stage-coach as he did sixty years ago ; or 
that messages should be sent only by letter as 
they Avere fifty years ago, before the use of the 
electric telegraph ; or that your portraits could be 
taken only by the painter's brush as they were half 
a century ago, before the discovery that the sun 
could imprint an image of yourself on a sensitive 
surface prepared for it. 

"It is the impertinence of dense ignorance for 
any of us to say what is, or what is to be, in the 
order of nature. It is a stupid blunder to look 
back at the little Ave knoAV of the past, and say 
that it is the unerring index finger telling us AA T hat 
is to be in the future. 

"If this planet has been Avhat geology teaches 
— a planet of coarser, cruder, and more violent 
forces than noAA< : abounding in forms of coarser 
vegetable, animal and even human life and 
organization than noAv; of AA 7 hich its present 
condition is a refinement and improvement 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 101 

as regards vegetable, animal, and man — is not 
this the suggestion, the hint, the proof, of a still 
greater refinement and improvement going on at 
the present time? Does not refinement imply 
greater power, as the greater power of the crude 
iron comes out in steel? And are not these greater 
and as vet almost unrecognized powers to come 
out of the highest and most complex form of 
known organization, man? And are ail of man's 
powers yet known? 

"Internally, secretly, among the thinking 
thousands of this and other lands, is the question, 
(with many other questions now being asked,) 
'Why must Ave so wither and decay, and lose the 
best that life is worth living for, just as we have 
gained that experience and wisdom that best fits us 
to live?' The voice of the people is always at first a 
whispered voice. The prayer, or demand, or desire 
of the masses is always at first a secret prayer, 
demand, wish, or desire, which one man at first 
dare scarcely whisper to his neighbor for fear of 
ridicule. But it is a law of Nature that every 
demand, silent or spoken, brings its supply of the 
thing wished for in proportion to the intensity of 
the wish, and the growing numbers so wishing, 
who, by the action of their minds upon some one 



102 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

subject, set in motion that silent force of thought, 
not as vet heeded in the world's schools of philoso- 
phy, which brings the needed supply. Millions so 
wished in silence for means to travel more rapidly, 
to send intelligence more rapidly, and this brought 
steam and the electric telegraph. Soon other ques- 
tions and demands are to be answered, questions 
ever going out in silence from multitudes, and, in 
answering them, in at first attempting to carry 
out and prove the answers and the means shown 
to accomplish, or realize many things deemed im- 
possible or visionary, there will be mistake and 
stupidity, blunder and silliness, break-downs and 
failures, and consequent ridicule just as there were 
then smashups on railways, and ten exploded 
boilers in the earlier era of the use of steam, to one 
of today. But a truth always goes straight 
ahead despite mistake and blunder, and proves 
itself at last. 

"You are not young relatively. Your present 
youth means that your body is young. The older 
your spirit, the better can you preserve the youth, 
vigor, and elasticity of your body. Because the 
older your mind, the more power has it gathered 
from its many existences. You can use that power 
for the preservation of beauty, of health, of vigor. 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 103 

of all that can make you attractive to others. 
You can also unconsciously use the same power to 
make you ugly, unhealthy, weak, diseased, and 
unattractive. The more you use this power in 
either of these directions, the more will it make 
you ugly or beautiful, healthy or unhealthy, at- 
. tractive or unattractive : that is, as regards unat- 
tractiveness for this one existence. Ultimately, 
you must, if not in this, in some other existence, 
be symmetrical: because the evolution of the mind, 
of which the evolution of our bodies from coarser 
to higher forms is but a crude counterpart, is ever 
toward the higher, finer, better and happier. 

"That power is your thought. Every thought 
of j^ours is a thing as real, though you cannot see 
it with the physical, or outer eye, as a tree, a 
flower, a fruit. 

"Your thoughts are continually mouldingyour 
muscles into shapes and manner of movement in 
accordance with their character. 

"If your thought is always determined and 
decided, your step in walking will be decided. If 
your thought is permanently decided, your whole 
carriage, bearing, and address will show that if 
you say a thing you mean it. 

"If your thoughts are permanently undecided, 



104 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

you will have a permanently undecided gesture, 
address, carriage, or manner of using your body : 
and this, when long continued, will make the body 
grow decidedly misshapen in some way, exactly as 
when you are writing in a mood of hurry, your 
hurried thought makes misshapen letters, and 
sometimes misshapen ideas: while your reposeful, 
mood or thought makes well-formed letters and 
graceful curves as well as well-formed and graceful 
ideas. 

"You are every day thinking yourself into 
some phase of character and facial expression, 
good or bad. If your thoughts are permanently 
cheerful, your face will look cheerful. 

"If most of the time you are in a complaining, 
peevish, quarrelsome mood, this kind of thought 
will put ugly lines on your face : they will poison 
your blood, make you dyspeptic, and ruin your 
complexion : because then you are in your own un- 
seen laboratory of mind, generating an unseen and 
poisonous element, your thought : and as you put 
it out or think it, by the invisible law of nature, it 
attracts to it the same kind of thought-element 
from others. You think or open your mind to the 
mood of despondency or irritability, and you draw 
more or less of the same thought-element from 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 105 

every despondent or irritable man or woman in 
your town or city. You are then charging your 
magnet, your mind, with its electric thought-cur- 
rent of destructive tendency, and the law and 
property of thought connects all the other thought- 
currents of despondency or irritability with your 
mental battery, your mind. 

"Your mind can make your body sick or well, 
strong or weak, according to the thought it puts 
out, and the action upon it of the thought of 
others. Cry 'Fire' in a crowded theatre, and 
scores of persons are made tremulous, weak, 
paralyzed by fear. Perhaps it was a false alarm. 
It was only the thought of fire, a horror acting on 
your body, that took away its strength. The 
thought or mood of fear has in cases so acted on 
the body, as to turn the hair Avhite in a few hours. 

"Angered, peevish, worried, or irritable thought 
affects injuriously the digestion. A sudden mental 
shock may destroy one's appetite for a meal, or 
cause the stomach to reject such meal when eaten. 
The injury so done the body suddenly, in relatively 
few cases by fear or other evil state of mind, works 
injury more gradually on millions of bodies all 
over the planet. 

"Dyspepsia does not come so much from the 



106 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

food we eat, as of the thoughts Ave think while eat- 
ing it. We may eat the healthiest bread in the 
world, and if we eat it in a sour temper, we Avill put 
sourness in our blood, and sourness in our stom- 
achs, and sourness on our faces. Or if we eat in an 
anxious frame of mind, and are worrying all the 
time about how much Ave should, or should not, 
eat, and whether it may not hurt us after all, Ave 
are consuming anxious, worried, fretful thought- 
element Avith our food, and it Avill poison us. If Ave 
are cheerful and chatty, lively and jolly, Avhile eat- 
ing, Ave are putting liveliness and cheer into our- 
selves, and making such qualities more and more a 
part of ourselves. If our family group eat in 
silence, or come to the table Avith a sort of forced 
and resigned air, as if saying, each one to himself 
or herself, 'Well, all this must be gone over again,' 
and the head of a family buries himself in his busi- 
ness cares or his newspaper, and reads all the 
murders, suicides, burglaries and scandals for the 
last twenty-four hours, and the queen of the house- 
hold buries herself in sullen resignation or house- 
hold cares, then there are being literally consumed 
at that table, along Avith the food, the thought- 
element of worry, murder, suicide, and the morbid 
element which loves to dwell on the horrible and 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 107 

ghastly; as a result, dyspepsia in some of its many 
forms will be manufactured all the way down the 
line, from one end of the table to the other. 

"If the habitual expression be a scowl, it is 
because the thoughts behind that face are mostly 
scowls. If the corners of a mouth are turned down, 
it is because most of the time the thoughts which 
govern and shape that mouth are gloomy and 
despondent. If a face does not invite people and 
make them desire to get acquainted with its wear- 
er, it is because that face is a sign, advertising 
thoughts behind it which the wearer may not dare 
to speak to others, possibty may not dare to 
whisper to himself. 

"The continual mood of hurry, that is, of being 
in mind or spirit in a certain place long before the 
body is there, will cause the shoulders to stoop for- 
ward ; because in such mood you do literally send 
your thought, your spirit, your real though invis- 
ible self, to the place toward which your power, 
your thought, is dragging your body head first ; 
through such life-long habit of mind does the 
body grow as the thought shapes it. A 'self-con- 
tained' man is never in a hurrv: and a self-con- 
tainecl man keeps or centers his thought, his 
spirit, his power, mostly on the use or act of the 



108 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

present moment Avith the instrument his spirit 
uses— his body. The habitually self-possessed 
woman will be graceful in every movement, for the 
reason that her spirit has complete possession and 
command of its tool, the body ; it is not a mile 
or ten miles away from that body in thought, and 
fretting or hurrying and dwelling on something at 
that distance from her body. 

"If you expect to grow old, and keep in your 
mind an image or construction of yourself as old 
and decrepit, you will assuredly be so. You are 
then making yourself so. 

"If you make a plan in thought, in unseen ele- 
ment, for yourself, as helpless and decrepit, such 
plan will draw to you unseen thought-element, 
that which will make you weak, helpless and de- 
crepit. If, on the contrary, you make for yourself 
a plan for being always healthy, active and vigor- 
ous, and stick to that plan, and refuse to grow 
decrepit, and refuse to believe the legions of people 
who will tell you that you must grow old, you will 
not grow old. It is because you think it must be 
so, as people tell you, that makes it so. 

"If in your mind you are ever building an ideal 
of yourself as strong, healthy and vigorous, you 
are building to yourself of invisible element that 



CHANGE OF LIFE. 109 

which is ever drawing to you more health, strength 
and vigor. You can make of your mind a magnet 
to attract health or weakness. If you love to think 
of the strong things of Nature, of granite mount- 
ains, heaving billows and resistless tempests, you 
attract to you their element of strength. 

"If you build yourself in health and strength 
today, and despond and give up such thinking and 
building tomorrow, you do not destroy what in 
spirit and of spirit you have built up. That 
amount of element so added to your spirit can 
never be lost : but you do, for the time, in so de- 
sponding, that is, in thinking weakness, stop the 
building of your health structure ; and although 
your spirit is so much the stronger for that addi- 
tion of element, it may not be strong enough to 
give quickly to the body what you may have taken 
from it through such despondent thought. 

"Persistency in thinking health, in imagining or 
idealizing yourself as healthy, vigorous, and sym- 
metrical, is the corner-stone of health and beauty. 
Of that which you think most, that you will be, 
and that you will have most of. You say, 'No!' 
But your bed-ridden patient is not thinking, 'I am 
strong:' he or she is thinking, 'I am so weak.^ 
Your dyspeptic man or woman is not thinking, 'I 



110 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

will have a strong stomach.' They are ever sav- 
ing, 'I can't. digest anything ;' and they can't, for 
that very reason. 

"We are apt to nurse our maladies rather than 
nurse ourselves. We want our maladies petted 
and sympathized with, more than ourselves. 
When we have a bad cold, our very cough some- 
times says to others, unconsciously, 'I am this 
morning an object for your sympathy. I am so 
afflicted.' It is the cold, then, that is calling out 
for sympathy. Were the body treated rightly, 
your own mind and all the minds about you would 
say to that weak element in you, 'Get out of that 
body;' and the silent force of a few minds so di- 
rected would drive that weakness out. It would 
leave as Satan did when the man of Nazareth im- 
periously ordered him. Colds and all other forms 
of disease are onlv forms of Satan, and thrive 'also 
by nursing. Vigor and health are catching as well 
as the measles. 

"What would many grown up people give for 
a limb or two limbs, that had in them the spring 
and elasticity of those owned by a boy twelve 
years old ; for two limbs that could climb trees, 
walk on rail fences, and run because thev loved to 
run, and couldn't help running? If such limbs, so 



CHANGE OF LIFE. Ill 

full of life, could be manufactured and sold, would 
there not be a demand for them, by those stout 
ladies and gentlemen who get in and out of their 
carriages as if their bodies weighed a ton? Why is 
it that humanity resigns itself with scarcely a pro- 
test to the growing heaviness, sluggishness, and 
stiffness that comes even with middle age? I 
believe, however, we compromise with this inertia, 
and call it dignity. Of course, a man and a father, 
and a citizen and a voter and a pillar of the state 
— of inertia — shouldu't run and cut up and kick up 
like a boy, because he can't. Neither should a lady 
who has grown to the dignity of a waddle, run as 
she did when a girl of twelve, because she can't 
either. Actually we put on our infirmities as we 
would masks, and hobble around in them, saying, 
'This is the thing to do, because we can't do any- 
thing else.' Sometimes we are even in a hurry to 
put them on, like the young gentleman who sticks 
an eyeglass to his eye, and thereby the sooner 
ruins the sight of a sound organ, in order to look 
tony or bookish, or like a chromo literary fiend. 

"There are more and more possibilities in 
Nature, in the elements, and in man and out of 
man ; and thev come as fast as man sees and 
knows how to use these forces in Nature and in 



112 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

himself. Possibilities and miracles mean the same 
thing. 

"The telephone sprung suddenly on 'our folks' 
of two hundred years ago, would have been a 
miracle, and might have consigned the person 
using it to the prison or the stake. All unusual 
manifestations of Nature's powers were then attri- 
buted to the Devil, because the people of that 
period had so much of the Devil, or cruder element, 
in them as to insist that the universe should not 
continually show and prove higher and higher ex- 
pressions of the higher mind for man's comfort 
and pleasure." 

CHANGE OF LIFE 

takes place in man as well as in woman. His sys- 
tem undergoes a process not identical with, but 
similar to, that occurring in her. At puberty the 
boy develops the sperm or seed, Avhich is the male 
principle, and the girl develops the ovum, which is 
the female principle. Correspondingly, he changes 
again, with her, at the age of from forty to fifty or 
fifty-five. He suffers through nervousness, sleep- 
lessness, pain at the base of the brain, tendency to 
softening of the brain and insanity. Suicides are 
also more common among men at this age than at 
any other. The eyesight changes, rendering the 



CARE OF THE EYES. 113 

use of spectacles necessary. The activity of the 
generative organs diminishes, and their functions 
grow weaker. To abstain from sexual intercourse 
during this period is of the greatest importance, 
and as essential to the welfare of men as of women. 
It follows, naturally, that a great discrepancy 
of years in the marriage relation is a violation of 
the laws of Nature. The marriage of a man of fifty 
to a young lady of twenty is a wrong to both 
parties. The same treatment prescribed for wo- 
man applies as well to man. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

CARE OF THE EYES. 

Of all the senses, sight is the most important 
as an educator. We build magnificent colleges for 
the training of our children, that thus their future 
lives may be rendered happier and more successful 
than would otherwise be possible, yet the most im- 
portant means to this end — the eye — is recklessly 
neglected and abused. In consequence, the sight 
soon becomes impaired, causing the mind to re- 
ceive erroneous impressions. Who can say how 
much error and distortion of the real, is conveyed 
to the intelligence through such habits as disease 
the senses? These habits are the main cause 



114 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

tending to lessen nerve force, and render sluggish 
the capillary circulation, which should be complete 
even through the most minute blood vessels. This 
depleted condition induces cataract, which appears 
first as a spot upon the pupil, and later on covers 
it partly, or perhaps entirely; it is usually of a 
gray or milky color, and ma} 1 " be either of a hard 
or soft character. During the first stage, a blur 
seems to envelop surrounding objects, which if 
small cannot be distinguished. The use of spec- 
tacles will not give relief, but onh r tends to increase 
the dimness. A bright light also has this effort ; 
the patient's vision being much clearer in a twilight. 

THE SYMPTOMS OF CATARACT 

are a thickening of the lens itself, called hard cata- 
ract, or a thickening of the containing membrane, 
called soft cataract. In acute attacks there is 
more or less pain, and a sense of fulness through 
the forehead and eyes, accompanied by an itching 
sensation. These conditions may be induced by 
external Auolence, hj using unsuitable glasses, or 
by exposure to very hot fires. Diseased kidneys 
and acute or chronic congestion will also induce 
this disease, though the form of cataract ordinari- 
ly found in the aged is simply the effect of impaired 
nutrition. When in the first or soft stage, cataract 



CARE OF THE EYES. 115 

can easily be removed, a few treatments generally 
sufficing. If the trouble is of long standing, the 
treatment should be persisted in for a few weeks or 
months, when a complete cure will result. 

People in general know very little of the habits 
of life necessary to insure perfect health, and even 
less of the care necessary to insure perfect vision. 
When it is discovered that some diseased condition 
is threatening, do not tamper with so delicate a.n 
organ as the eye, by experimenting with drugs, but 
change all habits that tend to enervate the system 
and conform strictly to the directions here given. 
You will find that the eye is as responsive to intel- 
ligent treatment as any part of the body. 

TREATMENT. 

Bathe the eyes several minutes at a time in hot 
and cold water alternately, taking care that the 
temperature is as extreme as can be endured, 
whether hot or cold. Use twice each day. Also 
apply Mattel's red or blue vegetable electricity three 
or four times a day, holding the mouth of the 
bottle over the closed eye from one to two minutes. 
In connection with this, use an electric battery, 
(see Medical electricity) either the negative or the 
positive pole. A gentle current is best and safest. 
In cases of severe inflammation, either acute or 



116 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED, 

chronic, use the positive pole of the battery, placing 
the negative pole at the coccyx, or at the feet if 
the latter be cold. 

For a negative, inactive condition of the eyes, 
use the negative pole, placing the positive at the 
coccyx. A small battery can be constructed by 
taking an empty ounce bottle, and filling it full of 
white cotton batting saturated with a drachm of 
mustard oil. Cork ti^htlv when not in use. Hold 
the mouth of the bottle near the open eyes, first 
one and then the other, until the tears flow freely. 
Repeat three or four times a day. If there is a 
sense of over stimulation, lessen the number of 
treatments. This induces a renewed action of the 
nerves, muscles and blood vessels, and a return of 
natural vigor to the parts, rlt removes cataract 
by absorption, restores and preserves weakened 
vision. During the period of change of life in both 
man and woman, this treatment, in connection 
with out-door life, and simple, cooling food, will 
insure good vision in old age, without glasses. 

Bear in mind that any impairment of the health 
is due to enfeebled blood and nerve force in the 
part affected, caused invariably by some habit or 
habits detrimental to the perfect action of the dif- 
ferent functions of the bodv. Anv means that can 



CARE OF THE EYES. 117 

be used to insure an active and vigorous circula- 
tion in the eve and surrounding tissues will pre- 
serve the organ in perfect health. Hot baths of all 
sorts, Turkish, Russian, vapor, etc., concluding 
with a dash of cold water, will preserve an active 
capillary circulation and give much vigor to the 
eyes. 

A few moments spent every morning with a flesh 
brush, vigorously used over the entire body, will 
give immense returns in the general health of the 
body. The only difficulty is that most flesh brush- 
es become so soft after a few days use, that when 
the super-sensitiveness of the skin is removed the 
efficacy of the brush is diminished, and the good 
results lessened. Care should be taken to obtain a 
brush having very strong bristles; a stiff hair- 
brush also is good. This habit, if faithfully con- 
tinued, will have a remarkable effect upon all the 
nerves of the body, including those of the eyes, in 
strengthening and maintaining them in vigorous 
health. 

A German-American teacher, sixty years of 
age, employed in one of the high schools, was cured 
of a double cataract after the oculists had pro- 
nounced her case incurable. This was accomplished 
entirely under the treatment herein described; 



118 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the result being that within six months her sight 
was perfectly restored. 

It is not well to confine children too closely to 
their studies, or to allow them to read by a bright 
artificial light. When we consider the utter dis- 
regard of hygiene, as manifested in impure air, 
improper food, unhealthy occupation, etc., it is 
surprising that there is not greater impairment, 
not only of vision, but of all the functions of the 
body. Let us expend a little force repenting the 
various abuses to which we subject our systems, 
and a little more in good resolutions for the future, 
that thus the fulness of life may be ours, and not 
the stagnation of death in life. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE. 

As the cold season approaches, additional 
clothing should be worn to prevent the contraction 
of colds, so prevalent during the change from 
warm to cool weather. At this time, any predis- 
position of the system to disease is excited and de- 
veloped, especially from this cause, thus great care 
should be exercised to prevent it. Colds are more 
frequently contracted unconsciously than other- 



PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE. 119 

wise, causing obstruction of the insensible as well 
as the sensible perspiration. The disagreeable 
effects mav extend throughout the entire system, 
or may be limited to some weak part of the body. 
If the kidneys are affected, either from inherited 
or acquired causes, the cold may settle in them, 
and some latent disease be thus developed. 

The first symptoms are usually pain at the 
lower part of the back, and over the kidneys ; also 
a nervous irritability each side of the spine, above 
the hip joints. The patient is generally unable to 
account for this, but if he is conscious of possessing 
weak kidneys, and the pains quite closely follow 
the cold, he may be assured that this is the cause. 
The local manifestation was most probably due to 
insufficient clothing over the spine and extremities. 
To prevent continuance of the symptoms, as well 
as inflammation and other complications which 
might result, take a hot bath, a few doses of 
aconite, the third, or febrifugo, and place a stimu- 
lating capcine plaster over the painful region, to- 
gether with additional clothing. This treatment 
will prevent more serious trouble, even so grave 
an ailment as Bright's Disease. If the bath is not 
convenient, soak the feet in water as hot as can be 
borne, then place them in cold water a few minutes, 



120 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

then again in hot, taking care to keep the tem- 
perature at an extreme point of heat and cold. 
Alternate in this way for twenty 01; thirty minutes 
before retiring. Take no food except a stimulating 
hot soup or gruel, or hot milk. After this treat- 
ment, retire immediately, using extra covering on 
the bed. Complete repose both of mind and body 
is necessary, therefore endeavor not to allow the 
mind to act, but sleep and rest thoroughly. Upon 
rising in the morning, dress the body and feet 
warmly. Continue this treatment until all ill 
feelings have vanished. 

When there is a tendency to sore throat or 
bronchitis, the patient may be assured that, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, he has taken cold. The 
insensible perspiration may have been checked 
simply by getting the feet chilled. In such cases, 
bathe the feet in hot and cold water alternately, 
take a few doses of aconite or febrifugo, keeping 
warm and quiet until a normal condition is re- 
stored. 

When children feel indisposed for work or play, 
complain of aching pains over the entire body, are 
troubled with loss of appetite, and a general de- 
pression of the system, sometimes accompanied by 
headache, languor or chills, give treatment as fol- 



PRE VENT ION BE TTER THAN C URE. 121 

lows : — medicate a quart of pure water with three 
pellets of Electro-Homoeopathic febrifugo, No. 1, or 
aconite 3d, six drops in a glass of water. Use a des- 
sert spoonful every fifteen or twenty minutes. 
Prepare a bath, using warm water at first, increas- 
ing the temperature until a free perspiration is 
induced. Wash the body well, and rub dry with a 
coarse or Turkish towel. Place the patient in bed, 
there to remain two or three hours, longer if neces- 
sary ; continue the use of the medicated water. I 
have found no other sedative or eliminative so 
effective as this. 

If the first bath is not sufficient to restore 
and equalize vital action, repeat until the desired 
result is obtained. If the patient is in attendance 
at school, he will, of course, be kept at home for 
one, two, or three days as the case may require. 
This treatment will be efficacious whether the 
patient be young or old. If the tub bath be incon- 
venient, add a pint of alcohol to a gallon of warm 
water, and use a sponge. This will be found very 
invigorating. The patient should remain in bed, 
and absolute quiet should be enjoined. In case of 
sore throat, add two drops of the mother tincture 
of belladonna to a glass of water, and give a des- 
sert spoonful every hour in connection with theaco- 



122 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

nite or febrifugo. If water is craved, give it medi- 
cated according to previous directions. The re- 
sults of this treatment, if faithfully continued, will 
be very gratifying. By this means many children 
have grown to adult age, free from all the diseases 
natural but not necessary to childhood, such as 
scarlet fever, whooping cough, measles, chicken- 
pox, cholera infantum, diphtheria, etc. 

If some definite form of disease is already de- 
veloped, still use the febrifugo, or aconite 3d, 
alternating with scrofol«so, second dilution. See 
Electro-Homoeopathic remedies. Give every fifteen 
or twenty minutes, until full recovery. No other 
medicines are required. As soon as the appetite 
returns, give some of the gruels mentioned in chap- 
ter on "Care of, and Cooking for, the Sick." Under 
this treatment the tardy eruptions are promptly 
brought out, and no serious after effects follow, 
such as deafness, weak eyes, and prolonged cough, 
as is ordinarily the case. 

A perverted polarity of the external and inter- 
nal man, will cause him to become a ready victim 
to the contraction of disease. By nature, the skin 
is positive, and the internal organs negative. 
Through some of the many forms of perverted 
living, these electric poles become so perverted that 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 123 

the internal organs are positive, and the skin nega- 
tive. In this condition, the skin lacks resisting 
power, and a cold will be contracted on the slightest 
provocation. To restore a positive external con- 
dition, thus enabling the skin to assert its natural 
resisting power, use frequent friction with cold 
water and a brush in a warm room. This treat- 
ment has a tonic effect, drawing the blood to the 
surface, and re-establishing an external circulation, 
which is an effectual bar to undue susceptibility to 
cold. Taking cold is the cause of so many serious 
ailments, that when proof against it, one may be 
said to be fairly on the road to living above disease. 



CHAPTEK X. 

CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 

Within the past fifty years, pathology has 
made immense strides toward perfection in the 
knowledge of disease, but as yet little progress in 
the curing of it. This is not due to incorrect diag- 
nosis, as post mortem examinations clearly prove, 
but to a lack of knowledge concerning the best 
methods of curing a disease when its nature is 
known. One important step is to avoid paralyzing 
the patient with fear. Long explanations of in- 



124 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

herited or prenatal tendencies, and long; technical 
terms describing his ailments, may so fasten the 
idea of disease upon his mind as to prevent him 
from ever surmounting it. This dismal painting 
on the brain of the afflictions of the body is a ver}^ 
serious mistake. 

People in general do not take time to study 
the system and its requirements, thus preparing 
themselves to cope with disease when occasion 
requires. They prefer to leave that to the doctor. 
While practicing among the very poor, I saw 
that simple methods are necessary if we would 
reach their understanding — methods in harmony 
with, and true to, nature. 

Pain is the result of the effort of the vital forces 
to restore health to any part of the body which 
may be diseased, or to their effort to throw off 
entirely the part lacking vitality and substitute 
new material. When a patient understands this 
law of nature, his mind, the great controller, will 
become positive against diseased conditions, re- 
fusing to yield to dejection or fear, regardless of 
the nature of the disease, thus helping the bodily 
forces to more rapidly eliminate it. The most 
dreaded disease becomes tractable and curable 
when this power, exercised by the mind over the 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 125 

body, is understood and applied. 

The first duty of every person, professional or 
otherwise, who, through sympathy and good will, 
is enlisted in the work of relieving suffering human- 
ity, is to ever be ready and open to receive new 
ideas. Nothing is more dangerous than that fos- 
silized mind which instantly rejects angl refuses to 
entertain a new idea. This is the same narrowness 
of mind which in years past rejected steam, electric- 
ity and the telephone as "new-fangled notions." 
Thousands are today unconsciously dragging out 
their lives in this prison of set ideas, effectually 
barred from progress by their confidence in the 
infallibility of old beliefs. But there are always a 
few men and women ready to emerge from the 
darkness of tradition into the light of new possi- 
bilities, and among them, the belief that we must 
be old at fifty and in our graves at seventy-five, is 
fast becoming a thing of the past. There are those 
today who are younger and healthier at fifty than 
they were at fifteen, and this renewed life is possible 
to all who are willing to renounce their old ideas 
and march forward under the banner of progress. 
Flesh is heir to no ills save those bequeathed by 
the mind of ignorance. The time is approaching 
when metaphysical law will be understood by every 



126 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

man and woman in the land; also when it will form 
the most important subject of study in our medical 
colleges. Not until then will the practice of medi- 
cine become truly a science. 

Many physicians still contend that a disease 
must run its course. This can be proyen to the 
contrary, b*v a method I haye found ayailable in 
eyery disease, from a common cold or headache 
to a contagious, or a violent sewer gas fever. If 
there is vitality enough to carry a patient 
through a disease by allowing it to run its course, 
then there is certainly enough vitality to arrest it 
before injurious drugs are added, to act as a 
further inducement to derangement. 

Sydenham says that "reason dictates that a 
fever is nothing else than an effort of nature to 
thrust from the system morbific matter, in order 
to restore the patient to health." 

The celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush says that 
"all diseases are a unit; fevers as well as other 
affections depend upon an irregular action, which 
is the first cause of every form and modification of 
disease. Diseases are intruders into the system in 
the form of poisoned air, etc." Physiologically 
speaking, the capillaries are the seat of disorder in 
all forms of fever. This affection is not confined to 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 127 

the vessels of one region, organ or tissue, but is 
diffused over all the minute ramifying communica- 
tions of the aorta and venous branches. Strictly 
speaking, then, according to the highest authori- 
ties, there is but one disease, and that is a disturb- 
ance of the vital forces in their action throughout 
the system. The voice of science now is to the 
effect that the vital force is the living spirit. 

The most dreaded diseases can be treated and 
prevented with absolute certainty, by the use of a 
few harmless remedies, and by proper attention to 
the hygienic laws. By regulating and restoring 
the capillaries of the system, we prevent or cure 
small-pox, typhoid, dengue, scarlet, yellow, re- 
mittent and intermittent fever, measles, diphthe- 
ria, peritonitis, cholera, cholera infantum, and 
all inflammations and congestions. To maintain a 
healthy action of the different tissues and appara- 
tus of the skin, and the different sets of vessels 
found in them, attention to exercise, diet, respira- 
tion, clothing, bathing, light and air is of the 
greatest practical importance. Sickness, as a rule, 
is the penalty of physical wrong doing, yet Nature 
in her infinite wisdom, provides for its relief. 

This provision consists in the power of the 
system to remove diseased conditions. The vital 



128 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

energies mav be aided in their work of restoration 
in two ways ; first, by removing all the causes that 
tend to produce disease or to continue it. Second, 
by assisting the forces of the system in their effort 
to remove disease. 

First. — Ordinarily, in all acute diseases, the 
patient does not desire food, and if it is taken and 
digested, the disease will be greatly increased by 
the stimulation of the chyle when converted into 
blood. If it is not digested, it will add to the pros- 
tration of the system, through irritation of the 
mucous membrane of the stomach. So that in all 
instances of acute disease, food should be withheld 
for a few days. Thirst may be allayed with cold 
water, barley or apple water, crust coffee, etc. 
When the patient recovers, his food should be given 
with regularity, in quantities not oppressive to the 
system, and not too frequently. In all instances 
where a physician is in attendance, the food should 
be prepared under his special direction, particularly 
after medicine has been withdrawn and the patient 
is convalescent. Many instances of recurring dis- 
ease are due to the injudicious use of food. 

Second. — By the action of the perspiratory 
glands of the skin, a great amount of waste matter 
is removed from the svstem. In disease, the action 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 129 

of these glands is much diminished. Their ducts 
also will become obstructed, if the waste matter is 
suffered to remain upon the skin. This inaction 
and obstruction very much increases the oppres- 
sion of the diseased organs, consequently remov- 
ing this condition, by attention to bathing and 
friction, is a powerful means of restoring the 
system to such a state as will expedite a return 
to health. 

The reader should be deeply impressed with the 
idea that bathing, friction, and breathing extra 
quantities of pure air, greatly assist the return of 
health. In all cases of diseased action, the surface 
of the body becomes negative, reversing the 
natural or healthy condition, which is positive. 
In illness the blood recedes from the surface locally, 
or generally, the interior becomes positive, and 
diseased action results in one or more organs, 
causing such organ or organs to become abnor- 
mally positive, thus exciting a disturbance 
throughout the entire body through the action of 
the sympathetic system. This causes indisposition 
for work or play, languor, headache, and loss of 
appetite for a greater or less number of days, or 
until a definite disease is developed. It may be 
caused from being chilled, or taking cold. If the 



130 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

patient is health}', an ordinary catarrhal condition 
of the nose or throat may be the only result, but 
if the cold or catarrh is not entirely eradicated, it 
becomes more frequent, and the simple cold or 
catarrh becomes chronic. This could have been 
prevented before developed, or cured after develop- 
ment, by the simple process of a hot bath, conclud- 
ing by sponging off with cold water, and a few 
drops of aconite 3d in a tumbler of water. This 
treatment, in connection with vigorous friction of 
the body, will restore the positive condition to the 
surface, which is the resisting power of the system 
against disease. 

Cold is readilv contracted from insufficient 
clothing, thinly clad extremities, also exposure to 
cold after having been confined for some time in a 
densely crowded hall or church. The. system be- 
comes depressed from breathing the impure air 
exhaled by hundreds of lungs, and upon emerging 
into the open air, becomes chilled, and lacks resist- 
ing power to counteract the ill effects. Thus, the 
weakest organ of the body is rendered abnormally 
positive, and develops disease. 

In this manner each disease makes its appear- 
ance, and receives its name from the organ afflict- 
ed. Should the trouble be with the kidneys, pain 



CUBE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 131 

and congestion are first manifest, followed by 
severe inflammation. Bheumatism is caused by 
vitiation of the blood, due to improper food, etc. 
Digestion becomes impaired, food sours and fer- 
ments while in the process of assimilation, result- 
ing in acidity of the blood, by depriving it of the 
power to produce healthy nerves and tissues. The 
patient readily chills. Defective muscular resist- 
ance is the root of the trouble. Acidity of the 
blood causes various other diseases, such as inflam- 
mation of the joints, finally developing rheuma- 
tism. Blue mass or mercurial treatment destroys 
the life of the blood, causing excruciating pain at 
every change in the atmosphere. So through the 
entire catalogue of diseases there exists perverted 
function, causing excessive action of either the 
positive or negative condition. 

Pure air is an absolute necessity in the bed- 
room or sick-room. Very careful attention should 
be given this important detail. It is not only 
essential in preventing, but of the utmost import- 
ance in removing disease. When the system is 
stimulated by pure blood, its power in eliminating 
disease is much greater than when the blood is 
defective in quality, and retention of the poisonous 
carbon, which sufficient breathing would have 



132 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

removed, causes vitiation and weakness. 

It is a mistake to suppose that cold air is 
necessarily pure air. The atmosphere may be very 
cold, yet reek with impurity. The fresh outer air 
should be warmed, keeping the sick-room at a tem- 
perature of 70° Fahrenheit, windows lowered at 
the top, or a pane of glass removed a/t some dis- 
tance from the patient, if the former method be 
inconvenient. There is no question but that dis- 
ease, in many instances, becomes severe and very 
dangerous, if not fatal, from the close, confined at- 
mosphere of the patient's room, when it would 
have been mild and of short duration if the apart- 
ment had been properly ventilated. Impure air 
taints the venous and arterial blood with a poison 
which reaches every organ, muscle, joint and atom 
of the body, weakens the entire system, and de- 
stroys its vitality. 

In consequence of this, Nature exerts herself to 
expel the effete matter, thereby causing discomfort 
or pain, perhaps in the form of headache, inflam- 
mation, fever, or a cough ; these being her symp- 
toms of disorder. A cough is Nature's effort to re- 
move some obstruction from the lungs. If the ob- 
struction is not removed, and the cough continues, 
consumption will result, developing a natural ten- 



C URE OF DISEA SE MA DE SIMPLE. 183 

dency , or it may be induced in the perfectly healthy 
and strong. A thorough knowledge of the impor- 
tance of extra deep breathing as well as an applica- 
tion of it, is the secret of uninterrupted health, and 
the safeguard of mankind from disease and suffer- 
ing. The blood is the river of life flowing through 
every avenue of the system, and the air is the 
power that forces it into every cell, tissue, and bone 
of the body. If this propelling power, the air, is 
lacking in purity, the vital processes are weakened 
and diseased. 

Chilling the body, generally or locally, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, habitual cold feet, over- 
feeding or under-feeding, the habitual use of tobac- 
co or other stimulants, excesses in the sexual rela- 
tion, in or out of marriage, insufficient clothing, 
thin shoes and stockings, mental or physical over- 
work, with depressing effects on the mind, are the 
direct and indirect causes of weakened or destroyed 
health. See Chapter V, "Air as Food," and Chap- 
ter XVII, "Healing through the Power of Mind." 
Let it be firmly impressed on the mind, that pure 
air is the natural food for the lungs, the life of the 
blood, and the natural disinfectant, whose agency 
nature employs to eradicate foul smells ; it, there- 
fore, is the best disinfectant in the sick-room, work- 



, 



134 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

shop, business house, theatre, or in the house of 
worship. In the water-closet, chlorate of lime 
should be used during times of epidemic or con- 
tagious diseases. 

Rest is absolutely necessary to a person suffer- 
ing from disease. By rest is meant not only a ces- 
sation of muscular labor, but of mental action as 
well. Consequently, if a person is indisposed, be it 
ever so slightly, the brain should not be kept 
excited and toiling by the noisy conversation of 
neighbors or friends. 

VISITORS TO THE SICK. 

"The anxious lady who visits her sick friend 
can do her no manner of good : all she can do is to 
show her a pocket handkerchief which she has 
moistened with her sympathizing tears; irritate 
her morbid nerves with chattering; help to spoil 
the air of the sick-room with her breath ; increase 
the noise that is so often hurtful to patients; dis- 
arrange the good order by her officious interfer- 
ence; give well-meant but erroneous advice, and, 
what is of greater consequence, perchance carry 

back the disease with her into her own home." — 
Hahnemann, Lesser Writings. 

Medicine is sometimes necessary to assist the 

natural powers of the system in removing disease, 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 135 

but it is only aii assistant, useful in passive dis- 
eased states, wherever action is below par ; in the 
commencement of acute diseases, in the premon- 
itory stage of fevers and inflammations, — the stage 
of depression of power — and in the congestive 
stages of eruptive diseases, such as measles, scarlet 
fever, small-pox, etc.; in short, wherever the symp- 
toms show retrocession of the fluids from the sur- 
face to the interior, the disease can be averted or 
arrested when taken in time, or if developed, its 
duration or severity can be to a greater or less 
extent diminished. 

About nine years ago I began to test the po- 
tency of the Electro-Homoeopathic remedies of 
Count Mattei, of Bologna, Italy. The full details 
are too lengthy to relate. When reading the 
twenty years' experience of the Count, with his 
discovery, I doubted some of the extravagant 
descriptions of his cures. However, I reasoned that 
things which had been considered impossibilities a 
few years ago, are now everyday affairs. This 
may be no less true in the cure of diseases hereto- 
fore considered incurable. 

In reading of the great cholera epidemics oi 
Europe and this country, from the most reliable 
sources, namely, statistical and hospital reports, I 



136 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

found that the average proportion of deaths in 
Paris from cholera under Allopathic treatment was 
forty-nine per cent, while that under the Homoeo- 
pathic was only seven and one half per cent. In 
Bordeaux, death occurred under Allopathic treat- 
ment at the rate of sixty-seven per cent, and under 
Homoeopathic at the rate of seventeen per cent. 
In the records of the mortality in European Hospi- 
tals, the average death rate, under Allopathic 
treatment, was sixty-five and one half per cent, 
while in hospitals where the cholera patients were 
given Homoeopathic treatment, only eleven and 
one half per cent died. 

During the prevalence of cholera in St. Louis, 
in 1849. one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven 
patients were treated by three Homoeopathic physi- 
cians. Of this number, only fifty-one died, a per- 
centage of three and one half per cent. In Cincin- 
nati, during the month of May, the Eclectic physi- 
cians treated three hundred and thirty cases 
of cholera, and one hundred and ninety-eight 
cases of cholerine, of which number only five proved 
fatal. Let me inform the reader that the Eclectic 
School does not employ calomel in any shape or 
form whatever. In the same city, during this epi- 
demic, four hundred and thirty-two cases of cholera 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 137 

were treated by Allopathic physicians, of which one 
hundred and sixteen died. Again, an unprofessional 
gentleman, (having over two hundred laborers in 
his employ, among whom cholera prevailed in 1832 
with its accustomed severity,) without medical ad- 
vice, and depending on ordinary domestic remedies, 
adopted, as the base of treatment, a prompt and 
diffusive stimulant, which proved perfectly suc- 
cessful. The result was, in treating a large number 
of cases, including thirteen in his own family, that 
all were cured. Nothing could have been more 
satisfactory. 

For the relief of the suffering, and for the in- 
struction of those who feel the truth of my asser- 
tions, I give my knowledge and experience of this 
dreaded disease, 

ASIATIC CHOLERA, 

in its most malignant form, together with its infal- 
lible treatment and cure. The commencement of 
this terrible disease is often unnoticed until the svs- 
tern is fully prepared for the sudden and violent 
outbreak. The slight, painless diarrhoea, and de- 
pression of the nervous power, with occasional diz- 
ziness, may pass unheeded and the patient be 
apparently well, yet after a sound and undisturbed 
sleep for hours, be awakened by a remarkably vio- 



138 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

lent illness, perhaps vomiting, accompanied by 
profuse discharges from the bowels, attended with 
severe pains extending down the legs, and a sense 
of complete exhaustion. The physical powers and 
vital energies are immediately prostrated. The 
temperature sinks below the normal standard, 
the body becomes benumbed with an icy coldness, 
the skin becomes shriveled up and almost insensible 
to heat or stimulating fermentations. The breath, 
too, as it comes from the lungs, appears to partake 
of the same icy quality. The patient complains of 
being greatly oppressed, throws off the bedclothes 
and calls for cold water, which he eagerly drinks, 
aiid which should never be Avithheld. The hands 
and feet turn blue or purple, as will, sometimes, 
the entire body. There are severe spasms and 
cramps in the fingers, toes, legs and bowels, which 
cause him to writhe and groan in agony ; a wild, 
terrified expression overspreads the face, and the 
eyes appear dead and glassy. These important 
changes may all take place in a few minutes. 
Additional symptoms are, increased purging and 
vomiting, with low pulse. The only faculty which 
seems to preserve a good degree of power is the 
brain. The disease is now fully developed, and 
progress is rapid. 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 139 

The above symptoms of genuine, malignant 
Asiatic cholera can be controlled to complete and 
perfect recovery of the patient, if the treatment is 
fearlessly carried out. At this stage of the disease, 
the patient will calmly tell you that all is over, and 
that nothing can save him. Pay no attention to 
this, but boldly and fearlessly keep at yo ur post, 
allowing no thought of fear to creep in. When 
purging and vomiting begin, use the most diffusive 
stimulants externally and internally. Keep a 
window open in the patient's room. It is necessary 
for two people to work together. One should pre- 
pare a poultice as follows: scald two quarts of 
common corn meal until of the consistency of pan- 
cake batter, and mix thoroughly with it six table- 
spoonfuls of red pepper, and four of ground mus- 
tard; spread one half inch thick between cheese 
cloth, and place over the entire stomach and 
bowels, the soles of the feet and calves of the legs. 
Pin flannel over the poultices, to keep them in posi- 
tion, and place jugs and bottles filled with boiling 
water, also hot bricks wrapped in pieces of cloth, 
about the bed. Rub the base of the brain with 
alcohol. To relieve the unquenchable thirst, give 
veratrum viride, six drops of the tincture to a quart 
of water, without ice, every ten minutes, in very 



140 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

small quantities, as large quantities increase the 
tendency to vomit; this induces a copious perspira- 
tion. Cover the patient warmly. 

While one attendant is making the poultices, a 
second should prepare the following: — chloroform, 
four drachms; tincture capsicum, three drachms; 
essence of peppermint, two drachms; glycerine, 
three ounces. Mix, and give one teaspoonful 
in two large tablespoons of water. In thirty 
or forty minutes, if the symptoms have not 
sufficiently abated, repeat the dose. In connection 
with this, continue to give the medicated 
water as a drink every ten or fifteen minutes, 
until the patient breaks out in a warm per- 
spiration. Then allay his thirst with larger 
quantities of the medicated water, which he will be 
able to retain on his stomach in large quantities 
after perspiration sets in. Keep up the sweating 
from six to nine hours, at least. Allow 7 him to 
drink all the medicated water he craves. The 
stimulating poultices may remain until the patient 
is so far advanced tow r ard recovery that they may 
be removed altogether. 

The patient will fall into a sleep almost imme- 
diately after perspiration sets in, from which he 
must not be aw T akened. Boil strong vinegar in the 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 141 

room until purging is controlled; place cloths, 
old sheets, old quilts, or cotton batting on the bed 
to absorb the watery stools. Reach under the bed- 
clothes and remove them as fast as the evacuations 
occur. Then immediately burn or bury them deep 
under ground at some distance from the house. It 
is not well to allow the patient to use the vessel or 
water-closet, as in so doing he disarranges all 
poultices and dissipates the artificial heat, thus 
hindering the progress of treatment. This disease 
requires all present to be quick, self-possessed and 
fearless. It is difficult to say when a case has be- 
come hopeless. The blue look, the cold extremities, 
the deeply sunken, glassy eyes, the almost imper- 
ceptible pulse, are not indications that the case is 
hopeless. 

All modifications of the disease require the 
same treatment, the only difference being that in 
the milder form the dose of cholera medicine 
should be lessened to a half teaspoonful. The 
external stimulants need not be quite so strong. 

When a cholera epidemic prevails, the premoni- 
tory stage should receive immediate attention. 
The symptoms are, lassitude, depression of nerve 
power, pains in the forehead, slight dizziness, and 
oppression at the chest. These, in most instances, 



142 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

can be promptly removed. The patient should at 
once be put to bed ; hot, stimulating poultices 
should be placed over the stomach, and a large jug 
of boiling water wrapped in flannel should be 
placed against the soles of the feet. In a glass of 
water, put one drop of the tincture of veratrum 
viride. Give a tea spoonful every fifteen minutes. 
Continue this treatment in connection with a dose 
of natrum sulphate, third trituration, given every 
hour, dry on the tongue. A dose is an amount 
which can be held on a three cent piece. Perspira- 
tion will begin shortly, eliminating all cholera 
poison through the skin, kidneys and bowels. This 
is a simple and reliable treatment for the 
premonitory stage of cholera. 

PREVENTIVE OR PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT. 

Pure air, pure water, plain and nutritive diet, 
are nature's great preventives against the count- 
less ills of life, sustaining a healthy and normal 
condition of the system, especially during epi- 
demics. This cannot be maintained without pure 
air, whether our dwellings are in the city or 
countrv. Pav special attention also to diet. Ab- 
stain from all pastry. A good, plain, nutritious 
diet is indispensable in the prevention of disease. 
Moderation in all things should be the rule. 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 143 

Predisposing causes of cholera are, derange- 
ment of the stomach, great anxiety of mind, exces- 
sive fear of attack, unwholesome diet, exhaustion 
from overwork, mental or physical neglect of 
personal and domestic cleanliness, irregular habits, 
and excesses of every description. Any one of these 
may be sufficient to induce an attack. All are 
direct incentives and stimulating agents in the 
production of cholera. 

Fevers are classified as contagious, non conta- 
gious, idiopathic and symptomatic. 

Typhoid fever, scarlatina or scarlet fever, diph- 
theria, measles small-pox, erysipelas and malarial 
fever come under the head of eruptive fevers, the 
prognosis of which is favorable or unfavorable in 
proportion to the previous state of health of the 
patient. The symptoms of all fevers are, languor, 
weakness, headache, chilliness and loss of appetite. 

T} T phoid fever: — Stage of incubation generally 
three weeks, in some cases four, and in others two. 
Typhoid fever epidemics are most prevalent from 
August to November, although under favorable 
circumstances, they may occur at any time of the 
year. The symptoms of typhoid fever are, a sense 
of general indisposition, weakness and debility, with 
i;eadache, dizziness, soreness of the limbs, some- 



144 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

times bleeding at the nose, and chilly sensations. 
These occur several days before the attack, which 
is ushered in. with a violent chill, or repeated chilly 
sensations daily. This is followed by fever, the 
pulse rising during the first week from ninety to 
one hundred beats per minute, and the tempera- 
ture from one hundred and one to one hundred and 
four degrees. 

From the earliest history of medicine until the 
present day, many and various theories have been 
advanced relative to disease, as well as much un- 
successful practice founded upon them. One of the 
most erroneous ideas is that which leads to the 
administering of purgative medicine at the com- 
mencement of a fever, in order to expel it from the 
system. This practice has been the means of in- 
creasing mortality to an alarming extent, as, after 
a drastic purgative has been given, it is almost 
impossible to effect a cure. The greater the malig- 
nity of the fever, the more serious the danger. 
This habit is very prevalent in private or domestic 
practice. The idea is to lessen the fever by remov- 
ing the poison in the system through purgation, 
which treatment has often imperilled the life of a 
patient before a physician could be summoned, 
although in typhoid fever this almost fatal mis- 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 145 

take has frequently been made by members of the 
medical profession. 

The ancients, to whom we are indebted for 
much knowledge, believed fever to be the result of 
a warfare between the vital forces of the body, and 
some noxious element invading it. This is also the 
opinion of Ray, Rush, Sydenham, and other radi- 
cal and progressive thinkers of the present day. 
Our object, then, is to remove this offending ele- 
ment from the system by the most natural, safe 
and reliable method known, thus arresting disease 
if in the premonitory stage, and shortening its 
duration or lessening its severity in the second 
stage, eventually curing it without destroying the 
health and constitution of the individual. 

The following system is not based upon untried 
theory, but upon practical experience. Sufferers 
from typhoid fever, even in the last stages, have 
recovered by the administration of attenuated 
doses of febrifugo, given every five or ten minutes, 
by placing in the mouth a piece of linen, satu- 
rated with the medicine. 

Before becoming acquainted with the Electro- 
Homoeopathic system of treatment for fevers and 
inflammations, I used from five to seven differ- 
ent medicines, according as the different stages of 



146 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the disease presented themselves. At present I am 
able to prevent, as well as cure, disease with abs- 
olute certainty, by the use of two remedies, provid- 
ed mv directions are followed. 

TREATMENT OF FEVERS. 

When any fever symptoms are manifest, have 
the patient placed in the sunniest and best venti- 
lated room in the house, the parlor, should that 
answer the description. Give fifteen febrifugo pel- 
lets, No. 1, administering them dry on the tongue. 
Medicate a glass of water with one pellet of febri- 
fugo, and another glass with one pellet of scrofo- 
loso, No. 1. Give one teaspoonful from the glass 
containing febrifugo, every fifteen or twenty min- 
utes, continuously, for half a day. During the 
remainder of the day, give one teaspoonful from 
the glass containing scrofoloso, every twenty min- 
utes. Before placing the patient in bed, bathe his 
feet thoroughly in hot water, then in cold, and 
again in hot water. If a bath-tub is convenient, 
give the patient a hot bath as soon as possible. 
While he is in the water, increase the temperature 
gradually by pouring hot water over the chest 
from a dipper. Continue until the heat is as great 
as the patient can endure. While in the bath, the 
body should be covered with a piece of flannel or a 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 14:7 

heavy towel. If the head should feel 'full'or dizzy, 
place a wet towel around it. Wipe until thorough- 
ly dry, place in bed with warm coverings, and a 
jug of boiling water at the feet. Do not neglect to 
administer the medicated water as directed. The 
hottest summer weather will admit of this treat- 
ment. Allow no one in the sick-room, and avoid 
all conA^ersation. Perfect quiet must positively 
be maintained. 

If normal conditions do not assert themselves 
in a few hours, and the fever should continue, with 
great thirst, keep the patient carefully covered, 
being particular not to check in the least any 
moisture of the skin, or any rash that may now be 
making its appearance on the surface of the body. 
Words cannot describe with what rapidit}' a too 
sudden cooling of the skin will cause any eruption, 
which may be about to make its appearance, to 
recede. This eruption is sometimes so faint as to 
escape detection by an inexperienced person. In 
some patients it presents itself only as a slight 
redness of the surface, or in spots on some portion 
of the body. This may be regarded as unimpor- 
tant by a person unskilled in sickness, when in 
truth it is a critical moment. A reaction of the 
entire system occurs— an effort to expel the obnox- 



148 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

ious irritant of the blood from the system. The 
combined action of the medicine and the external 
stimulation causes increased heat and, consequent- 
ly, a nervous condition of the entire system. If, at 
this moment, the patient throws off the clothes, or 
is uncovered, the chill thus received causes the 
eruption to recede to the interior, where it fastens 
upon either the lungs, bowels, or perhaps upon the 
entire tract of mucous membrane. 

The febrifugo acts as a general sedative, elimi- 
native, and diaphoretic. The scrofoloso acts as a 
powerful assistant in bringing a retarded or 
checked eruption to the surface. The unquenchable 
thirst must be gratified by pure spring or cold 
boiled water. Medicate one quart of either with 
two pills of febrifugo. Of water thus medicated, 
the patient may consume two or three quarts or 
more during the t went v-f our hours. In the mean- 
time, the febrifugo in the glass may be discontin- 
ued, but the scrofoloso must be given in connection 
with the medicated water every thirty minutes. All 
food must be withheld until the fever has abated. 
Then gruels (see chapter on food for the sick) may 
be given in moderation, medicated with a few pills 
of scrofoloso, until sufficient strength is estab- 
lished to enable the patient to take solid food. 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 149 

This is best withheld as long as possible. The 
greatest liability of the patient is to take cold, con- 
sciously or unconsciously, and suffer frequent re- 
lapses, which weaken his power of endurance. 

Do not be in too great haste to remain out of 
bed long at a time, when convalescing from fever ; 
as soon as slightly fatigued, lie down, cover up 
warmly, and rest. Take food often, in small quan- 
tities, until health is restored. If the symptoms 
indicate a recession of the rash to the lungs, 
bowels, or both, the case has become complicated, 
and a serious disturbance of the entire system pre- 
vails. The febrifugo and scrofoloso must be 
renewed, and given as in the commencement of the 
disease, every five or ten minutes. This will bring 
about a reaction, but the bowels and lungs must, 
from the very commencement, be well cared for. 
If the bowels show any signs of looseness or irregu- 
larity, cover them completely with a poultice 
made as follows : to one quart of corn meal, add 
boiling water sufficient to make a thick pancake 
batter. Add two table-spoonfuls of red pepper and 
one of ground mustard, mix thoroughly, and 
spread between cloths. This poultice should be 
one inch in thickness, and should be held in posi- 
tion by means of a long bandage, securely pinned. 



150 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Should there be difficulty in breathing, indicating 
implications of the chest and lungs, with a dry, 
brown tongue and parched lips, apply a poultice 
large enough to cover the entire chest, prepared as 
for the bowels. Keep the feet warm with jags of 
hot water. Bathe the patient in equal parts of hot 
water and alcohol, once a day, in a warm room, 
being careful to expose only one part of the body 
at a time, keeping the doors and windows closed. 
Change the body garments once a day when per- 
spiration is established. Perspiration usually 
induces sleep, thus relieving the nervous tension. 
The odor emitted from the patient is something 
indescribable, but need not cause alarm, for as 
soon as this stage is reached the patient is out of 
all danger from the disease. The only peril which 
still threatens him is a tendency to become easily 
chilled, which would probably result in a relapse. 
Should this occur, treat as in the beo-innine; of 
the disease, giving the medicines internally, and 
applying stimulants externally to feet, bowels, or 
wherever most required. 

The hot poultices need seldom be renewed. 
They can be retained on the afflicted parts until 
relief is obtained from pain and tenderness, and 
easy respiration is established. After the poultice 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 151 

is removed, line a piece of oiled silk, large enough 
to cover the surface of the lungs and bowels, with 
a piece of cloth on which is spread medicated cos- 
moline, in which has been thoroughly stirred and 
beaten twenty pills of canceroso 5th dissolved in a 
little water. If the canceroso is not at hand, use 
the cosmoline only. In the absence of oiled silk, 
thin, tough paper may be used, though silk is 
much to be preferred. Use this upon the lungs and 
bowels until the patient is entirely recovered, 
renewing the cosmoline every day. 

Dress the body and feet much warmer, when 
first emerging from the sick bed, than was 
the custom before illness. Give the exhausted vital 
energies time and opportunity to regain strength; 
nothing is gained by undertaking any work or 
occupation before the full strength of the s} r stem is 
re-established. Rest, with a little moderate exer- 
cise, is absolutely necessary for perfect recovery. 
The administration of tonics or stimulants to 
hasten this result is erroneous, as an artificial 
stimulant for the overtaxed system is very injuri- 
ous. Rest and moderate exercise are the only nat- 
ural and permanent restoratives known to nature. 
A little tonic to strengthen a feeble appetite is oc- 
casionally advisable, but breathing an extra quan- 



152 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

tity of pure air into the lungs when convalescent, is 
the greatest appetizer in the universe. This — with 
plenty of sunshine and bright and happy thoughts 
— is the best tonic for weakened nerves. Adminis- 
tering tonics and stimulants is parallel to lashing 
a horse when over-worked, instead of giving him 
the required rest and food. 

PERITONITIS. (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.) 

After the birth of my last child, in the month 
of August, 1883, 1 was suddenly stricken with acute 
peritonitis, which involved ovaries and womb in 
severe inflammation. Being called out to visit 
some very sick patients, when my baby was only 
a month old and nursing, and not haying fully 
regained the required strength, I took a severe 
cold after an exhaustive day's work in my rounds. 
In less than thirty minutes I was writhing in agony, 
with pain through my ovaries, womb, and finally 
the entire peritoneum, accompanied by purging 
and vomiting. My features shrank, giving the 
appearance of one in the malignant stage of 
cholera. A physician was called, who gave me a 
half grain of morphia to relieve the agonizing 
pains. The dose had not the slightest effect, and 
in thirty minutes he gave me another half grain 
with some whiskey, which caused a partial subsi- 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 153 

dence of the pain for about half an hour. From 
that on, I suffered continually with the most severe 
and racking pain. I refused to take any more 
morphia, as I saw that the physician began to be 
very much alarmed. He ordered hot applications 
over the abdomen in the form of flannel cloths 
wrung out of hot water, but no relief came. Every 
stab through, my abdomen, in all directions, can 
better be imagined than described. Another physi- 
cian was called, a Homoeopath, who prescribed 
aconite in alternation with belladonna, maintain- 
ing the hot applications day and night. This con- 
tinued for four days, my pulse remaining at one 
hundred and forty beats a minute, and my tem- 
perature varying from one hundred and two to 
one hundred and three. 

During this time, there was no abatement of 
the pain. At the beginning of the next week, the 
second physician considered the case fatal, and 
made it known to my family. My features now 
were cadaverous, the nose pinched, and the thighs 
continually flexed to the abdomen. My pulse 
remained stationary, the temperature rising to 
one hundred and Aye. My mind was perfectly clear, 
never having been more so in health. I realized 
that my case was hopelessin the minds of those 



154 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

about me, and in that of the attending physician. 
I finally decided to take my own case, dubious as 
it was. My clothes and the sheets were wet from 
the applications which had been used, and I felt 
assured that this gave me more cold. I ordered the 
nurse to scald two quarts of corn meal with boiling- 
water, and mix with it red pepper and mustard, 
using a quarter of a pound of each, making a poul- 
tice large enough to cover the entire abdomen. I 
also directed her to prepare two glasses of water, 
in one of them dropping one pill of febrifugo, and 
in the other, one pill of the scrofoloso, and to ap- 
ply heat to my feet and limbs by means of jugs 
and bottles of hot water. I took the medicine 
day and night every ten minutes, and on the third 
day I broke out into a perspiration, which I kept 
up until the inflammation had entirely subsided. 
I shall never forget the comfort and assurance I 
received from the hot corn meal poultice. It is the 
most beneficial method ever conceived, is dry and 
moist, and can be worn twenty -four hours without 
change, thus avoiding unnecessary exposure to 
cold. When the inflammation had subsided, I 
removed the corn meal poultice, replacing it with a 
piece of cloth spread with cosmoline and covered 
with a piece of oiled silk. In a few more days an 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 155 

evacuation of the bowels took place, the first half 
being black as coal, the last half perfectly nat- 
ural and well mixed with bile. I continued using 
cosmoline upon the abdomen until fully assured of 
the complete absence of inflammation. This pre- 
vented any perforation or adhesion of the bowels. 
I continued the two remedies, febrifugo and scrofo- 
loso, though not so frequently, allowing thirty or 
forty minutes to elapse between the doses. 

From these exceptionally good conditions, I 
unfortunately suffered a relapse. When, from pure 
exhaustion, I fell asleep, proper care was not taken 
to insure a continuance of these good conditions. 
The bed had cooled off, my pulse and temperature 
had gone down to less than normal, no more bed- 
clothes had been added, and the nurse also had 
fallen into a sound sleep. The cooling off awoke 
me; I was in a chill, and soon all pain and discom- 
fort returned. I knew then it meant death. I awoke 
the nurse and, telling her my situation, directed her 
to renew the hot corn meal poultice, and the former 
frequency of the doses of medicine, with an addi- 
tional dose of fifty pills of the febrifugo, dry on the 
tongue. In thirty minutes I had the chill under 
control, with a return of moisture and a rapid re- 
action. This occurred twice in succession, the 



156 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

nurse falling asleep both times. I then refused to 
let sleep overtake me unless they agreed to keep 
awake while I slept, and maintain an even warmth 
about my body. After this they watched me dur- 
ing sleep, and if the temperature of the room 
changed, became cooler toward evening, or at any 
time during the day, I was covered, and warm 
irons were placed at my feet. The chest and arms 
were also kept warmly covered. 

I then began to take nourishment, oatmeal 
gruel, hot thin soup, or hot milk. During the first 
four weeks of the attack I took nothing but water, 
and nothing but liquid food during the second four 
weeks. After the inflammation had fully subsided, 
I ate cooked rice, baked potatoes and baked apples. 
I suffered no further relapse from chills. My bowels 
had completely collapsed, were lifeless as dough, 
and heavy as lead. I had no use of the abdominal 
muscles or diaphragm, breathing only in the chest. 
I discontinued the febrifugo, and took only the 
scrofoloso. The nurse carried or assisted me to the 
bath-room to give me hot general baths, sponging 
off with cold water, and then placed me in bed to 
rest and sleep. At that time I took the scrofoloso 
every hour. This treatment I continued every day 
until I could walk, which was during the eighth* 



CURE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 157 

week, with the bowels feeling like lead. I then com- 
pletely covered the bowels with two Benson's cap- 
cine plasters cut in shape to act as a support while 
walking or moving about. These I removed every 
three days, replacing with new, after washing the 
entire abdomen with alcohol and water. The 
latter treatment I kept up for nine months, and in 
connection took one weekly general bath. I am 
free from any adhesion, perforation or irregularity 
of the bowels or any of the sequelae which so fre- 
quently result. Eternal vigilance was the price 
paid for the perfect health and strength I regained 
after one of the most violent and severe attacks of 
peritonitis with grave complications. 

Such has been my success with all my patients, 
in every variety of disease, by the use of the 
Electro-Homoeopathic remedies. 

LA GRIPPE 

is treated very successfully in the same manner as 
fevers, and with the same remedies. Apply the hot 
poultices, as described above, on any part of the 
body where most needed. My la grippe patients 
all convalesced on the third or fourth day, and 
were out at the end of a week, perfectly able to 
resume business. 



158 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

SCARLET FEVER AND DIPHTHERIA, 

malignant or non malignant, are treated in the 
same manner as typhoid fever, the same remedies 
being- used, with the exception of an additional 
gargle of hot water and alcohol, equal parts. Use 
according to severity of the case. The unhealthy 
membrane is destroyed rapidly, and the Airulency 
of the disease abated. 

In scarlet fever, if the fauces or throat are sore 
and full, use the same gargle, the hot stimulat- 
ing poultice around the throat, close up to the 
ears. 

For intermittent fever, give fifty pellets of 
febrifugo, dry On the tongue, an hour or two before 
the expected chill, and a teaspoonful of the diluted 
febrifugo every ten minutes, the same as in typhoid 
fever. If the chill is not broken the first or second 
day, repeat the fifty pills tw T o or three times in 
succession. 

The treatment for small-pox is the same as that 
for typhoid fever, with the exception that all ex- 
posed parts should be covered with oiled silk or 
soft tissue paper, spread Avith cosmoline or fresh 
lard, to prevent pitting. Cut a place for the nose 
and eyes. 

For diarrhoea, use scrofoloso diluted in one 



CUBE OF DISEASE MADE SIMPLE. 159 

quart of water, which is given as a drink if there is 
great thirst, with occasionally a dozen pills of 
scrofoloso administered dry on the tongue. Apply 
artificial heat when the vital forces have become 
positive or negative to excess. 

THE ELECTRO-HOMCEOPATHIC SYSTEM 

has been thoroughly elaborated and tested, not 
only by its author and discoverer, but subse- 
quently by some of the most eminent physicians of 
Europe, and with marvelous success. Throughout 
Europe and our own country, progressive physi- 
cians are testing this new system, finding there- 
in an entire revolution of all old ideas. Their ef- 
forts result in success never before approximated. 
I could give a list of hundreds of cases of ty- 
phoid, ague, sewer-gas and malarial fevers, small- 
pox, diphtheria, cholera infantum, scarlet fever 
and measles, that I have cured with the Mattei 
remedies, which, with the system of medication I 
once used, could not have been accomplished. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 
INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. 

This includes acute inflammation of the kidneys 
(acute nephritis), and chronic inflammation of the 
kidneys (Bright's Disease). 

ACUTE NEPHRITIS. 

Symptoms.— Chilliness, vomiting, pain each 
side of the spine just above the hip bone, and pain- 
less swelling of the feet, legs and other parts of the 
body. The urine thickens if boiled, showing the 
presence of albumen. Causes. — It has been found 
by experiment, that out of two hundred cases, 
sixty-eight were produced by intoxicating drink 
and taking cold ; sixty by exposure, and twenty- 
five by scarlet fever. Treatment. — Give the pa- 
tient hot baths, exciting perspiration as soon as 
possible. In this way the skin is kept moist during 
the course of the disease. Bathe the spine and the 
region of the kidneys three or four times a day 
with alcohol, diluted one third with hot water. 
Aconite 3d is the remedy used for the chilli- 
ness, fever, thirst and scanty urine, arsenicum 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 161 

6th for dropsical swelling, mercurius corrosivus for 
mucous, blood or pus in the urine. Apis mellifica, 
sixth decimal trituration, may also be given in 
alternation with arsenicum for dropsical swelling. 
Diet. — Abstain from all solid food for a few days, 
using only slippery elm tea, crust coffee, and 
lemonade without ice. 

CHRONIC NEPHRITIS, OR BRIGHT'S DISEASE. 

Symptoms. — Gradually increasing debility, a 
frequently irritable pulse, dyspepsia and vomiting. 
Pale, bloated appearance, occasional loss of appe- 
tite, dropsy, and frequent desire to urinate. The 
urine is light in specific gravity, and forms a thick 
white deposit of albumen when boiled. Causes. — 
Hereditary tendency, frequent exposure to cold, 
cold feet, gout, scarlet fever or dyspepsia. Treat- 
ment. — The secretions of the skin should be kept 
active by frequent hot baths. Turkish, Russian, 
hot water and alcohol baths are all excellent, and 
should be taken in a w T arm room two or three times 
a week. The bath is necessarv for cleanliness, and 
for its tonic effect. (See Chapter X, u Cure of Disease 
made Simple. ") Arsenicum 6th and helonias 3d are 
the principal remedies. The condition of the stom- 
ach, bowels and skin should receive special atten- 
tion, as the disease results principally from a defect- 



162 CVBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

ive condition of these emunctories. One of the most 
important features in the treatment is to maintain 
a free action of the skin, as by this means the 
blood is diverted from the kidneys, and purified. 
All stimulants and diuretics must be avoided. 

The specific treatment for degeneration of the 
kidneys consists in the building up of the system 
by extra breathing, diet, bathing, and rest from 
mental worry. Bathe the lower half of the back, 
also base of brain, if pain exists, and the bowels, if 
inactive, with alcohol 'and hot water, equal parts 
of each. Bathe and rub freely every other 
night, using only cold water over the parts with a 
sponge or coarse cloth, then drying thoroughly. 
Diet. — The diet given here is unlike that usually 
prescribed for Bright's disease. The most nourish- 
ing food is selected, that which does not contain 
sugar or starch, as these ingredients do not give 
strength but only produce heat, thereby causing 
inflammation. Bread made from entire Avheat 
flour, beef, mutton, tongue, oysters, raw or cooked 
without flour, and all kinds of fish or poultry not 
cooked or thickened with flour. Lettuce, cucum- 
bers, onions, asparagus, cold slaw, celery, string 
beans, sour apples, peaches with cream, straw- 
berries without sugar, coffee and tea in modera- 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 163 

tion, milk and buttermilk, are all beneficial. 

Eat slowly, in moderate quantities, and take 
as little liquid as possible at meals. Sleep eight 
hours of the twenty-four. Patients in the last 
stages of the disease have been perfectly restored 
to health, under the above treatment, even when 
able to pass only two thirds of a teaspoonful of 
urine at a time, which, being set in the sun, would 
almost entirely coagulate into albumen. 

DIABETES. 

Definition. — A constitutional disease charac-' 
terized by an excessive discharge of pale, sweet and 
heavy urine, containing grape sugar. Diabetes is a 
morbid condition of the blood, characterized by an 
abnormal increase of sugar. In healthy blood, it 
exists in an extremely minute quantity, and is 
most abundant a short time after meals. Causes. 
—Diabetes is considered by most physicians a ner- 
vous disease, and incurable. There is a defect in 
the chemical process by which the sugar and starch 
of the food are appropriated to the nutrition of the 
body. The natural process is interrupted at the 
point where grape sugar is produced, and the ex- 
cess of this substance in the blood is carried off by 
the kidneys. Treatment. — The same as prescribed 
for Bright 's Disease: Deep breathing, and hot 



1(34 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

baths, concluding by sponging off with cold water, 
are most important. All diseases of the kidneys 
are curable under this treatment. The remedies 
used are, phosphoric acid water, prepared as lemon- 
ade, for the thirst, and uranium nitricum, third 
trituration. Give a powder every night. Diet. — 
The same as for Bright 's Disease. 

CORPULENCY. 

Very corpulent people are neither strong nor 
vigorous, and an excess of this kind should be 
" treated as an abnormal condition. Causes. — 
iferedity, excess of sweets, fine flour, sugar, pota- 
toes, pastry, fats, or creams. Treatment. — Hot 
baths of all kinds, exercise, moderation in eating, 
friction over the entire body with a Turkish bath 
brush, very deep breathing a few minutes, three to 
four times a day. Diet. — Bread made from the 
entire wheat flour; beef, mutton, tongue, lobsters, 
all kinds of fish, oysters, raw or cooked without 
flour, poultry, all kinds, but not thickened with 
flour ; lettuce, onions, asparagus, cold slaw, celery, 
string beans, sour apples, peaches, strawberries 
without cream or sugar, coffee and tea in modera- 
tion. Eat slowly, in moderate quantities, and 
take as little liquid as possible at meals. 

If constipated, wash the bowels and rectum 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 165 

every night with cold water. The bowels will 
regulate themselves after this diet has been adhered 
to for a few days. Use injections to clear the rec- 
tum of feces until a natural movement has been 
restored. 

LEAN AND NERVOUS PEOPLE. 

Causes. — Excess of sweets, acids, spices, fine 
flour, pastry, mental worry, or weak digestion. 
Thin people having weak digestion are often kept 
so by the same food which causes others to be cor- 
pulent. If the starch, butter and fine flour cannot 
be digested, the system is kept in a feverish, dys- 
peptic state, and nervousness or consumption re- 
sults for no other reason than that life is burned out 
by a diet which only produces heat and does not 
renew the tissues. Treatment. — Attend well to 
cleanliness, so as to eliminate all impure secretions 
that tend to the surface. This aids in purifying the 
blood and strengthening the muscles. Hot baths 
are best, such as are directed for corpulency, except 
that a thin person should use oils very often after 
a hot bath, rubbing well into the skin, with a piece 
of flannel or Turkish bath towel, until the skin is 
dry and soft. This induces a feeling of strength and 
health. Practice the deep breathing two or three 
minutes from three to four times daily. Breathing 



166 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

too long or too often would over-stimulate the 
brain, produce dizziness, and sometimes headache. 
(See Chapter V, "Air as Food.'') Diet.— For lean 
and nervous people, bread made from the entire 
wheat flour, cream, butter, milk, graham mush, 
oatmeal mush with cream or sugar, soups of all 
kinds, eaten hot at the beginning of a meal, and 
seasoned with plenty of celery, onions or parsley; 
light puddings, farina, rice, tapioca, corn starch, 
with cream or sugar, and fruits of all kinds, with 
little sugar. Much sugar in a weak stomach is 
usually converted to lactic acid, creating acidity 
and heartburn, causing too much acid in the sys- 
tem, consequently leanness and nervousness. All 
liquids except soup should be taken between meals. 
Drink plenty of good water Avithout ice. Vegeta- 
bles, baked potatoes, boiled spinach, peas, beans, 
lettuce, cabbage, boiled celery, onions, meats of all 
kinds, chicken, oysters, fish, eggs, and lobsters. 
Tea and coffee sparingly. 

constipation. 
Causes. — Mental trouble, anxiety, the use of 
too much fine flour, pastry, the habitual use of 
purgative medicines, intemperance, lead in the 
system, tobacco. A tendency to costiveness is not 
so grave a symptom as many people believe; 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 167 

indeed, individuals thus predisposed generally live 
long, unless injured by purgatives, while those who 
are subject to frequent attacks of diarrhoea are 
soon debilitated, seldom attaining old age. The 
common idea that aperients or laxatives contrib- 
ute to health, and that impurities are thereby 
expelled from the body, is erroneous. 

Treatment. — Regular exercise, regular food, 
and a regular time for the evacuation of the bowels, 
are extremely important in the prevention and 
treatment of this disorder. Entire wheat or gra- 
ham bread should be used exclusivelv. If entire 
wheat bread cannot be obtained, substitute corn 
bread, rolled oats eaten raw in milk every morning, 
and ground wheat and barley mixed, also eaten 
raw in milk. Drink a glass of water before break- 
fast. Indian meal mush, with molasses, and ripe 
fruits and vegetables should form a large portion 
of the diet. Tea and coffee should be used spar- 
ingly. Washing the rectum and the entire abdomen 
every night or morning with cold water and a 
sponge, I have found to be, for many, an infallible 
cure. Drink plenty of cold water before and be- 
tween meals, without ice. If the rectum is full of 
accumulated feces, remove them with an injection 
of warm water. If the obstruction be very obsti- 



168 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

nate, use castile soap and water. If the symptoms 
are dull headache, with irregular action of the 
bowels, itching of the anus, with piles, and sleep- 
lessness from over-eating, use nux vomica and cas- 
cara sagrada alternately every hour; if very ob- 
stinate, take bryonia every two hours. These 
remedies will also remove the yellow discoloration 
of the skin. 

AN INFALLIBLE REMEDY FOR CONSTIPATION. 

An infallible cure for chronic constipation con- 
sists in living for a few da} T s entirely upon good, 
ripe apples eaten at regular meal time, and after 
that, adding a slice of graham, oatmeal or any of 
the grain-flour toasts. Any of the ripe, tart fruits 
are excellent as an occasional change. A man 
came to me at one time, saying that he was so 
afflicted with constipation that life had become a 
misery. He said he had taken such a sea of drugs 
that it seemed to him his bowels must be dead, 
and that it was not unusual for an entire week to 
elapse without an action of the bowels. At that 
time it had been ten days since he had had a move- 
ment, and he was terribly distressed. I directed 
him to get some good apples, eat two or three for 
breakfast, three or four for dinner, and two or 
three for supper, with an abundance of not another 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 169 

thing, this to be continued a day or so, or two or 
three days at a time. At the end of a week I met 
him, and, with profuse thanks, he said he had 
learned a lesson that would lead to. renewed life. 
How simple is the true way, and how effectual. 

Another simple method of overcoming; obsti- 
nate constipation is to take a teaspoonful of pure 
olive oil before breakfast every morning, until a 
normal habit is established. Pay attention to 
diet, and take no liquids during meals. All liquids 
must be taken before meals, or from one to two 
hours subsequently. 

CRAMPS. 

Cramps are a violent involuntary action of a 
few of the voluntary muscles. Causes. — Cramps of 
the muscles of the stomach and bowels are caused 
by worms, or by indigestible food, poisons or ice 
water. Cramps of the legs and arms occur in 
cholera. They may also be produced by exposuie 
to cold, as in bathing, or may be the result of a de- 
ficient supply of blood to the parts. Treatment. 
— Hot poultice — a quart of scalded corn meal and 
a tablespoonful of red pepper, placed between two 
flannel cloths and laid over the bowels. If from 
worms, give cina or santonine, night and morning. 



170 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

CHOLERA. 

SIMPLE CHOLERA. 

Definition. — An acute catarrhal inflammation 
of the stomach and intestines. Symptoms.— Nau- 
sea, vomiting, purging of bilious or watery fluid, 
thirst, coldness, and sometimes cramps of the legs 
and abdomen. Treatment. — If there is coldness 
and prostration, or cold SAveat, give two to three 
drops of the strong tincture of veratrum viride, 
one drop in a glass of water ; dose, one teaspoonful 
every ten minutes. If there is vomiting and purg- 
ing, give also veratrum alba once an hour. If thirst 
predominates, give arsenicum 3d. Apply heat 
to the extremities, also hot capsicum. Prepare 
poultices of corn meal mixed with boiling water, 
spread between flannels, and lay over the abdomen 
and stomach. 

ASIATIC CHOLERA. 

Symptoms. — Sudden prostration of strength, 
coldness of the surface, with great internal heat 
and thirst, cramps in the thighs, legs, toes and 
fingers, cold tongue and breath, vomiting and 
purging resembling rice water. In the advanced 
stage, the pulse is hardly perceptible, the eyes are 
sunken, the face is pinched, the voice reduced to 
a hoarse whisper ; there is extreme restlessness and 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 171 

thirst, with cold, clammy sweat. For treatment, 
read Chapter X, "Cure of Disease Made Simple," 
which contains directions for the treatment and 
cure of malignant Asiatic cholera. 

CHOREA. 
ST. VITUS dance. 
Symptoms. — Chorea is defined as a nervous 
disease, the seat' of which is supposed to be at 
times in the brain, and at other times through the 
entire nervous system. By degrees, the voluntary 
muscles of the whole body become affected, the 
limbs jerk about in every possible direction, and 
the face is contorted by all sorts of involuntary 
grimaces, much to the annoyance of the patient. 
Children between the ages of five and fifteen are 
most subject to this affection. Treatment. — Plain, 
nutritious diet. Bathe the bod v in hot water, and 

ty J 

sponge off Avith cold. If constipated, give a powder 
of nux vomica every night. If there is a pale, 
bloodless condition, give ferrum phosphoricum, 
first decimal trituration, one grain after every 
meal. If there are symptoms of coma, give san- 
tonine. If there is delayed menstruation, give 
Pulsatilla every morning. 

COLDS. 

Treatment. — For muscular soreness and ten- 



172 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

derness, headache, cold feet, stiff, sore feeling over 
entire body, take aconite and bryonia in alterna- 
tion, wrap up warmly, and promote perspiration. 
See catarrh, neuralgia and sore throat. 

CATARRH. 

If precautions are taken to maintain an in- 
creased capillary action over the entire surface of 
the body, until normal and healthy action of 
the mucous membranes be established, and the 
treatment repeated with every new cold, catarrh 
of any kind could not become chronic. If the feet 
are permanently kept warm by proper dressing, 
and bathing from two to three times a week, as 
described in previous chapters, by placing in hot 
and cold water alternately, from thirty to forty 
minutes at a time, one of the greatest causes 
of disease would be removed. Patients who are 
subject to the use of tobacco, in any form, need 
never look for a permanent cure or relief from 
catarrh or disease of any kind until this habit is 
overcome, and the system rid of the tobacco poi- 
son. There are numerous nervous coughs that 
arise from irritation of the mucous membranes of 
the bronchi and capillaries of the lungs. Give two 
to three doses of nuxyomica, third trituration, two 
to three times a day, dry on the tongue, for two or 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 173 

three days, and the cough readily disappears, but 
not permanently unless the tobacco habit is dis- 
continued. With Turkish, or hot baths of any kind, 
taken twice a week, inducing free perspiration, to 
eliminate the offending poison of the tobacco from 
the system, the most obstinate catarrh can be per- 
manently cured if the treatment is persevered in. 
Nux vomica is an antidote for tobacco, and the 
best local and constitutional tonic in the Materia 
Medica. Deep extra breathing is also an import- 
ant essential. 

COLIC. 

Causes. — Exposure to cold, also indigestion, 
worms, and lead poisoning. It is distinguished 
from inflammation of the bowels, in that pressure 
relieves pain where in inflammation pressure is 
painful. Treatment. — The hot corn meal and red 
pepper poultice placed between flannel cloths, and 
laid over the entire bowels. Wrap the patient 
warmly, and give a little nux vomica, third attenu- 
ation, in some water, or twenty-five grains of 
scrofoloso. (See Chapter XIV, "Electro-Homoeo- 
pathy.") 

CORNS. 

Treatment.— Bathe the feet well until the hard 
skin is softened about the corn, and apply strong 



174 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

nitric acid to the horny centre, with a camel's hair 
brush. Then take a sharp penknife and peel away 
the soft, deadened skin. Apply the acid two or 
three times during the treatment. The acid de- 
stroys the horny centre. 

COUGH. 

Causes. — Taking cold, but is usually a symp- 
tom of some other trouble, such as bronchitis, 
dyspepsia, or consumption. It may also result 
from the use of tobacco, which produces a nervous 
cough. Treatment. — Cough, with a dry, inflamed 
throat, requires belladonna, which should be taken 
as frequently as the severity of the case may re- 
quire. For dry, hard, painful cough, with stitches 
in the chest, bryonia should be given. If the cough 
is caused by irritation, owing to the poison of 
tobacco, give nux vomica, night and morning. For 
loud, hollow, ringing cough, give spongia. For 
short, hacking cough, with tight feeling in the 
chest, and frothy, rust colored sputa, give phos- 
phorus three times a day. 

CROUP, MEMBRANOUS. 

Symptoms. — Hoarseness and loss of voice, hol- 
low, ringing cough, or dry, barking cough, often 
changing to one having a squeaky sound. The 
hands of the child clutch at the throat with great 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 175 

anxiety, as if trying to remove some obstruction. 
Membranous croup never appears the second time. 
Treatment. — Aconite and kali bichromicum 
alternated. Keep the child well covered with flan- 
nel to induce perspiration. 

CROUP, SPASMODIC. 

Causes. — Cold feet, exposure to cold. Symp- 
toms. — The child appears to be suffering from a 
cold, and at night is awakened from sleep by a sense 
of choking, loud, harsh breathing, barking, dry 
cough, with great restlessness and anxiety. Treat- 
ment. — Give gelseminum, in drop doses, every 
twenty or thirty minutes. After the paroxysm, 
give aconite and spongia alternately. Apply hot 
poultice of scalded corn meal, into which has been 
stirred one teaspoonful of red pepper. Spread the 
mixture between two flannels, and apply over en- 
tire chest. Keep the child wrapped in flannel, to 
induce perspiration. 

diarrrxea. 

Causes. — Usually, the causes are, taking cold, 
indigestion, or dentition. Symptoms. — Frequent 
fluid evacuations from the bow r els. Treatment. — 
If the attack is caused by taking cold, aconite 
should be given, in connection with a hot foot bath 
and hot applications over the bowels. If the result 



176 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

of indigestible food, mix vomica is the most effi- 
cient remedy, in connection with the hot local 
applications. Food should be taken in fluid form, 
at regular intervals. Corn starch is excellent, as 
well as oatmeal or farina gruel. When diarrhoea 
is the result of teething, use chamomile. (See 
Chapter III, "Care of Children During Dentition.") 

DIPHTHERIA. 

Symptoms. — Slight fever, loss of appetite and 
strength, with some soreness and pain in the 
throat, also swelling of the glands near the throat. 

In the first stage, there is only a reddening of 
the surface of the affected parts, but within twenty- 
four hours small yellowish white patches may 
be seen which, in mild cases, loosen and are 
thrown off in four or five days. In severe cases, 
these increase in extent and thickness, and assume 
a grayish color. Strips of the false membrane may 
be thrown off by coughing, only to be immediately 
formed again. As the severer conditions set in, the 
patient becomes restless, this condition being fol- 
lowed by great prostration. Treatment. — Bella- 
donna third, and aconite third should be given in 
alternation, every thirty minutes. The throat 
should be gargled thoroughly every hour with 
alcohol (ninety per cent) and water, equal parts. 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. Ill 

The water may be either hot or cold. This gargle 
readily destroys the false membrane. Give very 
hot baths when the patient is first stricken, also 
use the foot bath of alternate hot and cold water. 
Place over the throat a well salted slice of fat pork. 

DROPSY. 

Causes. — Dropsy may be induced by chronic or 
acute disease of the kidneys, or by chronic disease of 
the liver. Dropsy of the brain or chest, by inflam- 
mation of the serous membranes. Symptoms. — 
Dropsy, from disease of the kidneys, may early be 
noticed under the eyes ; it also begins at about the 
same time in different parts of the body. It is ac- 
companied by pain in the region of the kidneys, 
and scantiness of the urine. If the cause is in the 
liver, the swelling begins in the cavity of the abdo- 
men, afterwards commencing in the feet, and work- 
ing upward in the same manner as in cases of 
heart, or kidnev disease. 

Dropsy of the brain is usually confined to chil- 
dren. 

Dropsy of the chest is generally the result of 
chronic pleurisy, as manifested in the swelling of 
the affected side of the chest. Treatment. — Arseni- 
cum is one of the best remedies for dropsy of the 
tissues, from whatever cause. Apis mellifica is the 



178 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

best known remedy for acute dropsy arising from 
disease of the kidneys. Hot baths are excellent ; 
also bathing and friction over the region of the 
kidneys, with alcohol. Excite capillary action by 
wearing a capcine plaster over the kidneys for two 
days, then remove and nse the alcohol again in the 
same manner. In this way a healthy action of the 
kidneys will be restored. Keep the feet warm, and 
bathe them every other day in hot and cold water 
alternately. 

DYSPEPSIA AND INDIGESTION. 

Causes. — Dyspepsia may be produced by vari- 
ous causes. It may result from an abnormal con- 
dition of the nervous system, or from over stimu- 
lating food or drink, such as mustard, pepper, fer- 
mented liquors, ice cream, tea or coffee. Worry and 
anxiety of the mind, or depression of the spirits 
from any cause, are the principal sources of dys- 
pepsia. So long as the mind is dull and gloomy, 
from disappointments in business or love, the 
effect is the same, — direct oppression of the vital 
forces. All food becomes poisonous to the system 
in time, if retained in the stomach until soured 
and fermented. Sour and fermented food pro- 
duces sour and acid blood. By the action of 
blood thus impoverished, the mind becomes per- 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 179 

manently gloomy, causing chronic dyspepsia. 
Symptoms. — These complaints are readily recog- 
nized by the following conditions; namely, ac- 
cumulation of wind, and formation of acids in 
the stomach. Patient feels unfit for mental or 
physical labor; hands and feet generally cold. 
Want of appetite, or morbid craving for sour, 
spicy, and acid articles. Gradual failing in flesh 
and strength. Treatment. — Correct diet is of the 
utmost importance. Plain food is necessary, with 
no fluids at meals. Soups and fluids of every kind 
should be taken before meals, or two hours after. 
If corpulent or lean, avoid all sweets, and all 
strong acids. Abstain from a meal frequently, 
to give the stomach rest. Take hot baths of all 
kinds, keeping the feet warm by bathing frequent- 
ly, and wearing thick soled shoes. The remedies 
for dyspepsia are, nux vomica, subnitrate of bis- 
muth, and lacto pepsine. Mix, and take two grains 
after each meal. 

EPILEPSY. 

Symptoms. — Sudden loss of consciousness, and 
motor disturbances in the form of more or less severe 
convulsions. These attacks recur at irregular pe- 
riods in the beginning of the disease. Causes. — 
Hereditary disposition, digestive disturbances. 



180 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

over -exertion, and great fatigue. The loss of con- 
sciousness may be either sudden and complete, the 
patient being stricken down as if by lightning, or it 
may be a little more gradual; in this case, the pa- 
tient, when falling, partly realizes his condition, 
and endeavors to save himself from injury. Treat- 
ment. — The patient should be firmly held, or suf- 
ficiently restrained to prevent self -in jury. After 
the attack, allow him to sleep as long as possible. 
Belladonna should be given in the premonitory 
stage, if there is congestion in the face, or headache. 
Nux vomica is useful between attacks, to regulate 
the digestive functions. The Electro-Homoeopath- 
ic remedies for this disease are giving the best 
results, curing many permanently. 

ERYSIPELAS. 

This disease is caused by exposure to cold, by 
wounds, or contagion. At first, the eruption is 
of a bright red color, later assuming a livid hue. 
There is a constant burning of the skin, and some- 
times pus is formed and discharged. Treatment. 
— Yeratrum viride is the specific remedy for this 
disease. Aconite and belladonna, in alternation, 
are the best remedies in the early stage. Can- 
tharis, ten drops in one pint of water, is the best 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 181 

local application. Wet a linen handkerchief in the 
lotion and spread over the face. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYES. 

Treatment. — Take one or two grains of 
ground flaxseed and place under the eyelid. The 
foreign body will be taken up by the flaxseed as it 
moves about in the eye. The process is painless. 

FELON. 

Causes. — Blows and bruises, or an impover- 
ished state of the blood. Symptoms. — Loss of ap- 
petite, with headache, backache, and pain in the 
limbs. The patient is feverish, and unable to sleep, 
with flushed face and strong pulse. Treatment. — 
Dip' the felon in lye water, to keep it soft, or apply a 
soap poultice. When the part begins to swell, 
lance it to the bone. Give two grains of silicia, 
third decimal trituration, three to four times a day. 

GRAVEL. 

Causes. — Exposure to cold, extreme fatigue, 
hereditary tendency, and luxurious living. Symp- 
toms. — Uneasiness in the back and loins, thirst, 
a dry tongue, and constipation. Treatment. — 
Avoid all intoxicating drinks, taking soft or boiled 
water only. Holland gin, given in water, will aid 
in dissolving the stone ; chamomile will also have 
this effect, and tends to prevent its formation. 



182 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

GOITRE. 

Goitre is an enlargement of the thyroid gland, 
or a thickening of the neck, and is of slow growth. 
In time this gland becomes enormously swollen, 
producing shortness of breath, and, in some cases, 
obstructing the circulation of blood in the brain. 
Treatment. — Give two grains of spongia three 
times a day. As external treatment, bathe the 
neck daily with cold salt water. 

GOUT. 

This is an inflammatory disease produced by 
morbid matter in the blood. Causes.— Luxurious 
living and the use of intoxicating drinks; also 
taking cold. Symptoms.— Pain in the small joints, 
commencing in the great toe, the heel, the knee, 
the hand, the wrist, or the elbow. Treatment. — 
Wrap the afflicted parts in cotton batting. 
Make a liniment of one pint of sweet oil and one 
ounce of ammonia. Mix, and apply freely. Give 
colchicum tincture internally, four or five drops 
in a little water, every hour. Also make frequent 
use of hot baths. Deit should be light, with no 
animal food or pastry. 

hay fever. 

This is a supersensitive condition of the mu- 
cous membrane, aggravated by the pollen of va- 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 183 

rious growths, principally the ragweed. Treat- 
ment. — Turkish baths, or hot baths of any kind, 
concluding with cold water. Electricity, scientific- 
ally applied, is also beneficial. The positive i ole 
should always be used internally over the highly 
irritable mucous surface, with a small nasal 
electrode covered with fine sponge. (See Chapter 
XIIL "Medical Electricity.") Make the bath, of 
some kind, a dailv custom. Patients addicted to 
the use of tobacco cannot be cured unless this 
habit is discontinued, as the poison of tobacco 
antidotes any remedy. 

HEADACHE. 

Treatment. — When headache results from 
cold, bathe the feet in hot and cold water, alter- 
nately. Aconite is the remedy. For periodical 
headaches, omit food twenty-four hours. Ignatia 
3d is the remedy. Headache occurring before 
•and after menstruation should be treated with mix 
vomica and Pulsatilla ; if caused by anxiety or ex- 
citement, give ignatia, third attenuation, in water, 
every hour. Bryonia will cure a headache which is 
more painful when the patient moves about. This 
headache is characterized by irritability. 

PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 

The most common disease of the heart is pal- 



184 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

pitation, caused by mental troubles, dyspepsia, 
formation of gases, suppressed menstruation, or 
an impoverished condition of the blood. If the 
disease results from mental troubles, give ignatia. 
If from dyspepsia, nux vomica and Pulsatilla. If 
caused by worms, give santonine or cina. Pulsa- 
tilla is the best remedy if the patient is suffering 
from suppressed menstruation. 

SYNCOPE OR FAINTING. 

Causes. — Sudden fright, violent injuries, severe 
pains, oppressive odors, the presence of indigestible 
matter in the stomach, loss of blood. Treatment. 
— Ammonia or camphor held to the nostrils. The 
patient should be laid flat on the floor, or a bed, 
and the feet placed first in hot water, then in cold. 

HEMORRHOIDS OR PILES. 

Piles are formed by an accumulation of blood 
in the small branches of the veins. This blood co- 
agulates, and forms a complete obstruction to the 
venous circulation. Piles are more common in wo- 
men than in men, and are produced by habitual 
constipation, pregnancy, abdominal tumors, in- 
flammation of the vagina, displacement of the 
womb, diseases of the bladder, and pin worms in 
the rectum. Treatment. — Internal and external 
piles should be bathed daily with cold water. Also 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 185 

bathe the lower part of the spine. The extended in- 
testine should be replaced after each evacuation, by 
the forefinger, well oiled and pushed up the rectum 
as far as possible. Bathe the parts thoroughly 
with cold water. Inflammation and swelling can be 
reduced by the application of very hot water, fol- 
lowed by cold, and the use of a cold, wet compress 
at night. Constipation must be avoided. (See 
' 'Constipation," this chapter.) 

HYSTERIA. 

Hysteria is a disease of the nervous system, al- 
most confined wholly to females. Usually, the at- 
tacks are sudden and irregular, though in some 
cases, periodical. The patient bursts into a fit of 
weeping, soon to be followed by convulsive laughter. 
The disease generally makes its appearance before 
puberty, and is supposed to have its origin in 
deranged uterine action, also debility and nervous 
exhaustion. Ignatia is the remedy for nervous 
exhaustion ; macrotin and Pulsatilla for the men- 
strual derangement. Exercise, deep breathing and 
outdoor life are very important. 

HYPOCHONDRIA. 

Kead chapter on mental healing. Give ignatia 
and phosphoric acid prepared as a lemonade. 



186 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER. 

Causes— Taking cold, intoxicating drink, cold 
feet, too long retention of urine. Symptoms — 
Pain and weight in the sides and lower part of the 
abdomen. Treatment. —Aconite is the remedy in 
the first stage, given in alternation with cantharis. 
Rest in bed is necessary. Apply external heat 
over the bladder, give mucilaginous drinks, plain 
food, and see that the bowels are kept regular. 

PARALYSIS OF THE BLADDER. 

This occurs more frequently in people of ad- 
vanced age. Electricity is most effectual in its 
removal. (See Chapter XIII, "Medical Electric- 
itw") 

PERITONITIS. 

Causes. — Absorption of animal poisons after 
childbirth, surgical injuries. Ushered in with 
chills, fever, and small, quick, hard pulse. Also 
extreme pain, and tenderness of the abdomen. 
(See Chapter X, "Cure of Disease Made Simple.") 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN, OR MENINGITIS. 

Symptoms. — Meningitis is characterized by 
rigors, a hot, dry skin, hard and frequent pulse, 
hurried respiration, depression of spirits, vertigo, 
intense headache, loss of appetite, vomiting and 
constipation. The eyes have a wild expression. 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 187 

Delirium sets in early, the patient being noisy, 
violent and restless. These symptoms continue 
three or four days, after which the fever abates, 
the pulse flags, the tongue is dry and brown, and 
the delirium is apt to pass into stupor or coma. 
In a few days there is extreme prostration, the 
symptoms resembling those of typhus fever. When 
the disease terminates favorably, the improvement 
is gradual . Treatment. — Gelseminum or veratrum 
viride every half hour. Bathe the feet in hot 
water, then cold, alternating in this way for thirty 
minutes, two to three times a day, gradually in- 
creasing the temperature of the hot water, and de- 
creasing that of the cold. Also bathe the head in 
hot Avater, then in cold. In the intervals of treat- 
ment, keep a wet cloth on the head. Induce free 
perspiration. The nourishment should be mild, 
such as lamb broth, and gruels made from the 
cereals. 

SOFTENING OF THE BRAIN. 

Causes. — Imperfect nutrition, alcoholic drinks, 
tobacco, injuries to the brain, growth of tumors 
upon the inner surface of the skull. 

Symptoms. — Similar to those in inflammation 
of the brain. There is an impairment of the intellect- 
ual faculties, embarrassment in asking questions, 



188 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

melancholy, drowsiness, particularly after eating, 
impaired vision and hearing, and pricking and 
twitching of the limbs, sometimes accompanied by 
pain, or by numbness. In the inflammatory form, 
the limbs are more frequently the seat of pain- 
ful cramps, stiffness, and contraction. There 
maybe nausea, constipation, difficult micturation, 
and labored respiration, which becomes stento- 
rious towards the last. A state of coma ensues, 
which may pass off in a day or two, but only to 
return and become more profound, until termi- 
nating fatally. Softening of the brain occurs more 
frequently after the fiftieth year, although it is pos- 
sible at any period of life. Treatment.— Turkish 
and vapor baths, hot and cold foot baths, daily. 
Rest from mental application is necessary, also 
abstaining from all liquors. If addicted to the use 
of tobacco, the habit must be discontinued. 
Diet. — Select food from that prescribed for lean 
and nervous people. The best remedies are, phos- 
phoric acid prepared as a lemonade, and nux 
vomica, 3d trituration, three times a day. Take 
plenty of outdoor exercise, and live in an atmos- 
phere of music and agreeable company. This will 
assist in maintaining a cheerful frame of mind. 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 189 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BREASTS. 

This develops chiefly during the period of 
nursing. Causes. — Stagnation of the milk within 
the glands, from taking cold, or external injuries. 
Symptoms. — Cold chills and rigors, with severe 
pain in the breasts, which feel hard and congested. 
Treatment. — Aconite every half hour. Prepare a 
poultice of flaxseed, adding a tablespoonful of 
black pepper. Mix thoroughly and spread on a 
cloth the size of the breast, cutting a hole for the 
nipple. Soak the feet in hot salt water, and remain 
in bed, covered warmly, keeping an even heat over 
the entire body. 

EARACHE. 

Causes. — Taking cold, the extension of inflam- 
mation, as in scarlet fever, chronic catarrh, etc. 
Symptoms. — Buzzing in the ears, with pain, head- 
ache, and dullness of hearing. Treatment. — 
Aconite in the first stage, copious hot douches into 
the ear by means of a fountain syringe. Also mix 
a few drops of chloroform with a teaspoonful of 
cosmoline, place on cotton batting and lay in 
the ear. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE THROAT. 

This is an inflammation of the upper and back 
portions of the throat. Symptoms. — Pain, swell- 



190 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

ing, and a dark red color of the mucous membrane. 
In the chronic condition, ulcers may appear scat- 
tered over the surface. Treatment. — Belladonna, 
3d attenuation. Gargle the throat with alcohol 
and water, equal parts, every hour. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE UTERUS. 

Causes. — Heavy lifting, tight lacing, and hered- 
itarv tendency. Symptoms. — Pain in the back, 
pain in the groin, bearing down pain over the 
bladder. Treatment. — Perfect rest, lying in a 
recumbent position. Pulsatilla is the remedy. 
Hot injections should be used once a week; also 
electricity scientifically applied. One treatment is 
often sufficient. For a chronic, inflamed condition, 
where ulceration and leucorrhoea exist, hot injec- 
tions twice a week should be taken, using one 
gallon of water. Sepia and macrotin in alter- 
nation. Deep breathing must be practiced, and all 
clothing suspended from the shoulders. 

JAUNDICE. 

Symptoms. — Yellowness of the skin and whites 
of the eyes. Treatment. — Febrifugo No. 1, of the 
Mattei remedies, hot baths of all kinds, and correct 
living. 

SUPPRESSION OF THE MENSES. 

Causes.— Taking cold, wet feet, mental depres- 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 191 

sion, general debility. Treatment. — Hot baths, 
foot baths two or three times a week. Ferrum 
phosphoricum, first attenuation, three grains after 
each meal. Macrotin taken in alternation with 
the iron, for several weeks. Good, nourishing 
food, and plenty of moderate, outdoor exercise. 
(See Chapter XVII, "Healing Through the Power 
of Mind.") 

PAINFUL MENSTRUATION. 

Treatment. — Bathe the feet in hot water 
every other night, for a week before the periods. 
Give gelseminum at night, two or three doses 
before retiring, and macrotin two or three times a 
day, for a week before the appearance of the menses. 

FALLING OF THE WOMB. 

Causes. — Self-abuse, general debility, caused by 
worry or anxiety of mind, incorrect living, falls or 
strains, weight of heavy clothes on the hips, gar- 
ters suspended from a band around the waist, or 
corsets. Symptoms. — Painful and irregular menses, 
pain in the back and limbs, melancholia, headache, 
bearing down feeling. Ulcers may be present, from 
the size of a pea to that of a half dollar. Treat- 
ment.— Hot douches should be used every other day, 
and continued during the two weeks following the 
menstrual flow. If caused by debility, take iron, 



192 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

3d attenuation, three grains after each meal. Also 
take macrotin every morning. If the result of 
falls or strains, take one or two applications of 
electricity, the positive pole placed over the pubes 
and uterus, negative pole over sacrum. (See Chap- 
ter XIII, ki Medical Electricity.") If arising from 
tight lacing and heavy weight on hips, remove the 
cause and treat as for general debility. Electricity 
is beneficial in all disorders of the sexual organs, if 
scientifically applied. If suffering from cold feet, re- 
store circulation by bathing them frequently in hot 
water, then in cold. Dissolve a pint of salt in the 
hot water. Abstain from ice water, ice cream and 
salt pork. Frequent cheerful company, live much 
out of doors, work in the garden, and do any and 
all kinds of light work, in or out of the house. Keep 
away from all gloomy, despondent people, and 
from all disagreeable, depressing influences. Make 

use of deep, abdominal breathing while standing 

or lying. Train the mind to look on the bright 

side of things, read cheerful books, and live in an 

atmosphere of music and sunshine. Bathe and 

massage the body frequently; that it should be 

done daily, is almost an absolute necessity. Eat 

wholesome, digestible food in small quantities. 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 193 

MILK CRUST. 

This disease develops on the scalps of teething 
children. It may be confined to a portion of the 
head, or it may extend down the neck, or to the 
ears or eyes. Treatment. — Wash the affected part 
with boiled water and castile soap, and dry with 
a soft cloth by pressing gently. Apply small quan- 
tities of cosmoline on every part affected with the 
eruption. This will heal and remove the scabs, 
and ameliorate the itching and burning. Internal- 
ly, give Count Mattel's scrofoloso, second dilution, 
every half hour. With the above treatment, milk 
crust can be cured in two or three weeks. 

MUMPS. 

Causes. — Generally, a specific contagion. 
Symptoms. — This complaint begins with febrile 
indications, a swelling in one or both parotid 
glands, and stiffness of the jaws. Mastication 
and deglutition are painful ; the parts are hot, 
tender, and painful on pressure. Treatment. — 
Remain in a warm room, and avoid taking cold. 
Use hot applications, with two or three doses of 
belladonna during the day. If the breasts or 
testicles are swollen, take Pulsatilla night and 
morning. 



194 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

NETTLE RASH. (URTICARIA.) 

Causes. — Intestinal irritation, caused by eating 
strawberries, crabs, clams, or mushrooms. Also 
caused by uterine irritation during pregnancy, by 
menstruation, or by the introduction of pessaries 
or flannels. Symptoms. — Spots resembling those 
produced by the sting of nettles or mosquitoes. 
Treatment. —Rhus toxicodendron and aconite, 
in alternation. The diet should be free from any 
substance which might produce the disorder. 

NAUSEA, OR VOMITING. 

Causes. — Eating improper food, inflammation 
of the kidneys, pregnancy, overeating, indigestible 
food, scarlet fever, small-pox, intermittent fever. 
Treatment. — Drink a tumbler of hot water to 
expel the offending substance, and abstain from all 
food for twenty-four hours or more. Use an injec- 
tion of warm water in the rectum, to remove all 
accumulated fecal matter. Rest, and do nothing 
else, until the disturbance abates. 

neuralgia. 

This is a functional disorder of some particular 
nerve. Physiologically, an irritation in the course 
of one or several sensory nerves. Causes. — Heredi- 
tary predisposition, malaria, exposure to cold, 
thinness of the blood. Treatment.— For con- 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 195 

stitutional debility, enrich the blood, and excite its 
circulation with hot baths. Iron phosphate, third 
attenuation, is the remedy. Keep the feet warm. 
Diet. — Bread made of whole wheat flour, eggs, 
vegetables, oatmeal at breakfast, and fruits. In- 
dulge in plenty of pure air, and omit fluids at meals. 

NERVOUSNESS. 

Treatment.— If caused by general debility, 
nux vomica is the best remedy, in connection with 
hot baths. If by mental anxiety, read chapter 
on mental healing. If the cause is disease of the 
uterus, use hot injections, two or three times a week. 
Pulsatilla and helonias, night and morning. Dys- 
pepsia is one of the greatest sources of debility, 
causing various degrees of nervous disturbance. 
Remove the cause by eating with great precaution 
only such food, in small quantities, as is easily 
digested. 

DISEASES OF THE NOSE. 

General observations. — An habitually pointed 
nose denotes derangement in the mesenteric glands 
of the bowels, and general atrophy. When the 
nose becomes suddenly pointed in children, it de- 
notes an impending spasm. A thick, swollen nose 
indicates inflammation, if accompanied by pain, 
heat and redness, or scrofula; rachitic diseases. 



196 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

If the nose becomes suddenly pointed during the 
act of parturition, it indicates internal hemorrhage, 
complete exhaustion, or threatening convulsions. 
The pointed nose of a nursing mother indicates 
her complete unfitness for that office. When ob- 
served during severe illness, it is always a grave 

symptom, indicating extreme exhaustion and 
collapse. 

A heavy motion of the nasal win^s during 
respiration is a sign of impeded respiration, 
due either to asthma, pneumonia, croup, dropsy 
in the chest, or incipient paralysis of the respira- 
tory muscles ; also utter prostration. 

Circumscribed redness of the point of the nose, 
cheeks, and forehead, with paleness and coldness 
of the other parts of the face, denotes, in pneumo- 
nia, that suppuration has taken place. 

A coppery, shining redness of the root of the 

nose, is a sign of existing syphilitic ulcers within 
the nose. 

An habitually cold nose is found in disordered 
states of the abdominal viscera, in dropsical com- 
plaints, and in chlorosis. 

A grayish, lead-colored nose is found in dropsy 

of the chest and pericardium, in induration of the 

lungs, and in some malignant forms of typhoid 
fever. 



TREATMENT OF GENERAL DISEASES. 197 

Single, lead-colored stripes on the nose have 
been observed in obstruction of the portal vein. 

A bluish color of the nose is found occasionally 
in apoplexy, croup, diseases of the lungs, heart, 
and larger blood-vessels; in short, in all morbid 
conditions which cause stagnation of the blood. 

Brownish, yellowish spots on and over the nose, 
in the form of a saddle, usually indicate a diseased 
liver, or chronic leucorrhoea. 

"A blackish fur at the base of the nostrils, is 
found in typhus epidemic, dysentery, cholera, in 
fact, in any condition of great prostration." — Cow- 
perthwaite. 

SEASICKNESS. 

Phosphoric acid, six drops in a glass of water, 
taken daily, is a prevention or cure of this com- 
plaint. Eat sparingly the first two or three days, 
or until the system becomes accustomed to the 
swaying of the boat. 

Vomiting. — This is generally the result of over- 
loading the stomach, and requires no treatment. 

Ulcers and skin diseases respond readily to 
the Electro-Homoeopathic treatment. Give scrofo- 
loso, number one, second dilution. In very severe 
skin diseases the third attenuation is preferable. 



CHAPTER XII. 

MATERIA MEDICA. 

Homoeopathic remedies are prepared in the 
form of pills, powders and liquids, differing in degrees 
of strength. A close, when prepared as a powder, 
is an amount that can be held on a three cent piece; 
when prepared as pills, from five to six every hour, 
and in the form of a liquid, five to six drops in half 
a glass of water. In the latter case, give one tea- 
spoonful every twenty or thirty minutes. The fre- 
quency with which medicine is administered de- 
pends entirely on existing conditions. In chronic 
diseases, give from one to three doses a day. In 
acute diseases, remedies are given more frequently, 
every thirty or sixty minutes, or every two hours, 
according to the severity of the case. In regard to 
the strength of the medicine, the third attenuation 
is generally preferred of the vegetable remedies. Of 
the mineral compounds, such as iron, arsenicum, 
phosphates, silicia, sulphur, carbonates of lime, 
phosphates of lime, mercury, bromides, etc., the 
sixth attenuation is preferable. 

In the following pages are given diseases and 
their indications, with the corresponding remedy 
most needed. 



MATERIA MEDICA. 199 

ACONITUM NAPELLUS. 

This remedy is used in the first stage of fevers 
and colds, also for restlessness, hysteria, vertigo, 
fulness in the head, and early stages of inflamma- 
tion of the eyes. There are usually roaring sensa- 
tions in the ears, with anxious, frightened expres- 
sion of countenance, and sensation of distention in 
the face ; dryness of mouth, with bitter taste, burn- 
ing thirst, and painful hiccough ; vomiting, with 
heat and thirst, painful inclination to urinate, 
hoarseness, expectoration of bright red blood, 
stitches in chest, cough, palpitation of the heart, 
with great anxiety and restlessness. This remedy 
is most frequently used in those diseases where the 
so styled antiphlogistic treatment — blood letting, 
etc., — would be the method employed. In inflam- 
matory fevers, such as the fever accompanying 
meningitis, bronchitis, pleuritis, pneumonia, 
peritonitis, metritis, cystitis, rheumatism, hepati- 
tis, enteritis, croup and catarrh, it is, in the first 
stages, a standard remedy. 

.ESCULTJS HIPPOCASTANUM. (HOESE CHESTNUT.) 

The symptoms indicating a necessity for this 
remedy are as follows : the patient is gloomy, low- 
spirited, irritable, is troubled with flushes of heat 
over occiput, neck and shoulders, giddiness, and 



200 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

itching* over left eye. Pale, miserable appearance. 
Tongue coated white or yellow, with thick, yellow- 
ish phlegm in mouth. Taste sweet, bitter, metallic. 
Tongue feels as if scalded. Violent vomiting, burn- 
ing distress in the stomach, pressure, as from 
stone, in pit of stomach. This remedy is especially 
needed where there is dry, uncomfortable feeling in 
the rectum as though filled with small sticks. Sore- 
ness, burning, itching and fulness at anus. Hem- 
orrhoids the size of ground nuts, purple and pain- 
ful; sensation of burning; obscure vision, aching 
and lameness, or shooting pains in back. Constant 
backache, affecting sacrum and hips, aggravated 
by walking, and stooping forward. Therapeutic 
Range. — Congestion of the liver, constipation, dys- 
pepsia, gastralgia, prolapsus ani, hemorrhoids, 
leucorrhoea. 

AILANTHUS, (TREE OP HEAVEN.) 

Therapeutic Range. — Low, adynamic forms of 
disease, indicated by sudden and extreme prostra- 
tion, stupor, vomiting, purplish appearance of the 
skin, such as is observed in malignant scarlatina 
and other eruptive fevers ; typhoid fever, cerebro- 
spinal meningitis, tape-Avorm. 

Symptoms. — Semi-consciousness, inability to 
comprehend what is said. Eyes suffused and con- 



MATEBIA MEDIC A. 201 

gested ; startled look when aroused ; pupils dilated 
and sluggish. Copious, thin, ichorous and bloody 
discharge from the nose. Face red and hot, 
covered with a rash. Teeth covered with sordes, 
tongue dry, parched and cracked. Throat livid 
and swollen, tonsils prominent and often ulcerated , 
external neck swollen. Throat dry and rough. 
Thirst for cold drinks. Breathing hurried, irregu- 
lar, heavy. Eruption of rash on face and forehead. 

APIS MELLIFIOA. 

Therapeutic Range. — Ailments arising from 
stings, iodines, abuse of cinchona, turpentine, 
cantharides. Also given in typhus and intermit- 
tent fevers, strangury and dropsy. Symptoms. — 
Stupor, interrupted by piercing shrieks. Absent 
mindedness; headache with vertigo. Patient lies 
in torpor. Delirium, with sudden shrill cries. 
Grinding teeth and burying head in pillow ; urine 
scanty, and of a milky appearance. E # yelids, ears 
and nose red and much swollen. Sensation in the 
toes and whole foot as if too large. General feeling 
of lassitude with trembling. Carbuncles with burn- 
ing, stinging pains. Great desire to sleep. 

ARNICA. 

Therapeutic Range. — Bad effects, even 
amounting to inflammations, from mechanical 



202 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

injuries, falls, bruises, contusions, compound frac- 
tures, etc. 

ARSENICUM. (ARSENIC.) 

Therapeutic Range.— Effects of poisoning due 
to decaying or morbid animal matter, taken into 
the system byinnoculation, inhalation or swallow- 
ing. General dropsy of thoracic or abdominal cav- 
ities ; intermittent fevers, especially after abuse of 
quinine, typhoid and hectic conditions ; inflamma- 
tion of mucous membranes; diarrhoea; dysentery; 
chorea; epilepsy; paralysis, or bad effects from 
tobacco chewing. 

BRYONIA ALBA. 

White Bryony. Tincture and Trituration of Root. 

Useful when following symptoms or diseases 
are present : — 

Delirium; restlessness in sleep, and great excite- 
ment over the affairs of the day. 

Sharp stitching pain in chest, with inability to 
take a deep inspiration. 

Stitching, tearing pain, aggravated by motion. 

Constipation; stools hard as if burnt. 

Motion of jaws more or less constant, as if 
chewing something; lips dry and cracked. (Ty- 
phoid fever.) 



MATERIA MEDIC A. 203 

Intermittent fever; chill commences on lips, tips 
of fingers or toes ; great thirst. 

Desire for things which cannot be had, or which 
are refused when offered. 

Frequent bleeding of nose when menses should 
appear; vicarious menstruation. 

Pain or diarrhoea, aggravated by every hot 
spell of weather. 

Puerperal fever ; swelling of the breasts. 

Lochia suppressed, with headache, especially 
in forehead, as if it would burst; worse on motion. 

In hydrocephalus, child throws left leg about. 

Patient feels as though he were sinking down in 
bed. 

Dry mouth and lips ; drinks large quantities of 
water. 

Sitting up in bed causes nausea and faintness. 

Thirst for warm drink, which relieves. 

Headache in forehead , extending backward and 
down the neck, shoulders and back. 

In typhoid fever, the patient resists being moved. 

Pneumonia ; typhoid fever. 

Wry neck — inability to move the head on ac- 
count of pain and stiffness. 

BELLADONNA. 

Deadly Nightshade. Tincture of whole plant. 
Violent throbbing of carotids. 



204 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Taking' cold from every draft of air when un- 
covering the head ; complains of taking cold after 
cutting the hair. 

Desire, with inability, to sleep. 

Furious delirium; strikes, bites, howls, wants 
to jump out of the window, or get away from im- 
aginary objects. 

Pains come suddenly, and go just as suddenly. 

Feeling in back as if it would break, hindering 
motion. 

Photophobia; dilated pupils ; injected eyes. 

Pain in throat when swallowing, especially 
when taking liquids. 

Pressure as though all the contents of the ab- 
domen would issue through the genital organs; 
felt particularly early in the morning. 

Vertigo, when stooping, or rising from stoop- 
ing position, with tendency to fall backward or to 
the left. 

Desire to escape, with restlessness and nervous 
excitement. 

Delirium; frightful figures and visions before 
the eyes. 

Spasmodic pains ; throbbing headache. 

Rush of blood to head and face. 
The acute symptoms of this drug have a strik- 
ing resemblance to those of hydrophobia. 



MATERIA MEDIC A. 205 

COLCHICUM. 

Meadow Saffron. Tincture. 

Pressure in the head, especially in the occiput, 
and deep in the cerebellum. 

Scanty discharge of dark, turbid urine, with 
tenesmus and burning. Heart disease following 
rheumatism. 

Tearing pains in muscles and joints, numbness 
and pricking of hands and feet. 

Rheumatic pains in the legs, extending to toes. 

Gouty rheumatism in the small joints. 

CACTUS. (COMMON NIGHT-BLOOMING cereus.) 

Heavy pressure in the head, as if a great 
weight lay on the vertex. Sensation of constriction 
in the heart, as if an iron band prevented its 
normal movement. 

Oppression of respiration in going upstairs. 
Difficulty in breathing. 

Continued oppression and uneasiness, as if the 
chest were constricted with an iron band. 

Palpitation of the heart; irregularity of the 
heart's action, which at times is rapid, and at 
others slow. 

Coldness in back and icy cold hands. 

Acute and chronic affections of the heart. 



206 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

CALENDULA. 

An excellent application for open wounds, 
burns and ulcers, also useful as injections for 
ulceration of womb. 

CINA. 

Variable appetite, desire for sweets, digging, 
boring sensations in the nose, peevishness, white 
and bluish tint around the mouth, grinding of the 
teeth at night, great hunger soon after eating, 
gagging cough in morning, after rising. 

Convulsions, child suddenly becoming stiff, 
gurgling noise, as though water were being poured 
out of a bottle, from the throat to the abdomen. 
Itching of the anus. 

DROSERA. 

Round-leaved Sundew. Tincture of Plant. 

Whooping cough, worse after midnight; feeling 
as of constriction in larynx, chest, and hypochon- 
driac region; cough worse after drinking; vomiting, 
first of food, then of mucus. 

Clergyman's sore throat, where constrictions 
exist; constriction and crawling sensation in larynx; 
cough aggravated by warmth and a recumbent 
position. 

Cough comes in violent paroxysms at intervals 
of about four hours. 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 207 

Deep, hoarse, bass cough, with strangling. 

VERATRUM ALB. 

White Hellebore. Tincture of Root. 

Neck too weak to hold up the head; particu- 
larly in children with whooping cough. 

While in bed, face is red; after getting up, it 
becomes pale. 

Despair of salvation ; suppressed catamenia. 

Chilliness on top of head as if ice were lying 
there. 

Dysmenorrhea with vomiting and purging, or 
exhausting diarrhoea with cold sweat. 

During wet weather, pains in the limbs, getting 
worse in warmth of bed, better Avhile walking. 

Cold sweat on forehead. [Have seen apparently 
hopeless case of croup cured when the cold sweat 
on the forehead was the guiding symptom.] 

Cholera morbus, vomiting and purging at the 
same time. One of the chief remedies in cholera. 

VERATRUM VIRIDE. 

American Hellebore. Green Hellebore. Tincture 

of Root. 

Dangerously high temperature. Reduces tem- 
perature from 104° to 102° in a few hours. 

Patient trembles, jerks, and seems as if going 



208 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

into convulsions. Convulsions after scarlatina, 
with dilatation of pupils, and sleeplessness. 

Continual jerking or nodding of the head. 

Cerebral congestion, with a tendency to con- 
vulsions in children. 

Great activity of arterial system. 

Puerperal mania following convulsions. 

To be given in all conditions where there is 
rapid pulse, very high temperature, or a tendency 
to erratic, convulsive movements. 

THUJA. 

Arbor Yitse. Tincture. America. 
Ill humor and depression ; weariness of life. 
Diarrhoea daily, after breakfast; at times pain- 
less, at others with colic. 

Stool bright yellow, watery ; expelled forcibly, 

with much noisy flatus ; gurgling, as water from a 
bung hole. 

Fig warts. 

Wart-shaped excrescences here and there, es- 
pecially on hands and genitals. 

Sycotic affections. 

Syphilitic herpes, and obstinate chancres. Gon- 
orrhoea. Warts. 

Profuse night-sweats, staining the clothes 

yellow, as if saturated with oil. 
Persistent sleeplessness. 



MATERIA MEDIC A, 209 

SULPHUR. 

Brimstone. Flowers of Sulphur. Trituration 

and Tincture. 

Heat in the soles of the feet, or cold feet, with 
burning soles ; patient wishes to find a cool place 
for them, or puts them out of bed. 

Patient dislikes to be washed. 

Heat on top of head; flushes in face; feet cold. 

Hot Hushes with spells of faint ness, or passing- 
off with a little moisture and faintness or debility. 

Irresistible drowsiness in the daytime, and 

wakefulness the whole night. 

Patient feels suffocated ; wants doors and win- 
dows open. 

Burning in the vagina ; patient is scarcely able 

to keep still. 

Very red lips, particularly with children. 

Both the flow of urine and the discharge of feces 
are painful to the parts over which they pass. 

Diarrhoea some hours after midnight, or early 
in the morning. 

Weakness in the chest during the evening while 
lying down. 

Comedones ; black pores of the skin, particular- 
ly in the face. 

Sick headache periodically; once a week, or 
once in two weeks ; heat on vertex. 



210 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Voluptuous itching; scratching relieves ; burn- 
ing afterward. 

Stooping position while walking or sitting. 

Gone, empty feeling in stomach about eleven 
A. M. 

Hemorrhoids; with itching. 

One of the best remedies for scrofula. 

STAPHISAGRIA. 

St a vesacre . Tinct are . 

Styes, nodosites, chalaza? on the eyelids, one 
after the other, sometimes ulcerating. 

Sensation as of a round ball in the forehead, 
firmly fixed, even when shaking the head. 

Drowsiness during the day, sleeplessness at 
night ; body aches all over. 

Cough only in the daytime, or only after din- 
ner, particularly after eating meat. 

Too much dwelling of the mind upon sexual 
subjects. 

Teeth turn black, or show dark streaks run- 
ning over them ; gums ache. 

Every attempt to eat or drink causes beltyache 
and tenesmus ; dysentery in summer. 

Very peevish; throws or pushes things away 
indignantly. 

Itching of the margin of the lids. 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 211 

Affections of glands and bones ; scrofulous and 
scorbutic affections. 

Painful swelling of glands. 

Swollen gums, ulcerating, spongy; bleeding 
when touched. 

SPONGIA. 

Sponge. Tincture and Trituration. 

Thyroid gland swollen and hard, with suffoca- 
tive attacks at night. 

Goitre. 

Pressing, painful swelling of the testicles; 
pinched, bruised, squeezing pain in the testicles. 

Spermatic cord swollen and painful. 

Sensation of obstruction in the larynx, as from 
a plug, with impeded respiration; incessant cough, 
low in the chest, where there is a sore pain. 

Cougli dry, barking, hollow and croupy, or 
wheezing and asthmatic. 

Dry cough day and night, with burning in the 
chest. 

Cough worse from lying with head low ; better 
after eating or drinking; croup. 

Dyspnoea and great weakness in chest ; inabili- 
ty to talk after slight exercise. 

Burning, sore pain in chest and bronchi, with 
rawness in the throat when coughing. 



212 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Excellent for children and women, especially 
those having light and lax skin and muscles. 

The action of spongia closely resembles that 
of iodine. 

SEPIA. 

Juice of Cuttlefish. Trituration. 

Yellow saddle across the nose; also yellow 
spots on the face. 

Pain and bearing down in the uterus ; crossing 
the limbs to prevent protrusion. 

Unpleasant feeling of lump in rectum; constipa- 
tion of pregnancy. 

Aversion to occupation; indifference to family 
ties ; irritable and easily offended ; memory weak ; 
uterine troubles. 

Putrid urine, depositing a pinkish sediment 
which adheres tenaciously to vessels. 

Great loss of the hair. 

Very irritable, fretful, and easily offended. 

Excessive appetite, or no appetite at all. 

Itching eruption in the bend of the elbow. 

Swelling and heaviness of the feet, with offen- 
sive perspiration ; coldness and heaviness of the 
hands and feet. 

Sensitiveness to cold or cold air. 



M ATE EI A ME DIC A. 213 

SILICEA. 

Flint. Silicious Earth. Trituration, 
Ailments following vaccination, as abscesses, 
etc., even convulsions. 

Great costiveness, immediately before and dur- 
ing catamenia. 

Increased menses, with repeated paroxysms of 
icy coldness over the whole bod}'. 

Want of vital warmth even when taking exercise. 

Yielding mind, faint-hearted, anxious mood. 

The head is wet from sweating, particularly at 
night ; patient likes wrapping up. 

Foot-sweat, with rawness between the toes; 
also complaints after checking it. 

Inflammation and closure of the lachrymal duct. 

Difficult expulsion of soft stools, they seeming 
to slip back. 

Scrofulous subjects, with great coldness of body 
and sweaty feet. 

RHUS TOX. 

Poison Oak. Three-leaved Ivy. America. Tincture. 

Lameness, stiffness and pain on first moving 

after rest, or on getting up in the morning; relieved 

by continued motion. 

Complaints after getting wet in a rain while 
overheated. 

Mumps on left side. 



214 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED, 

A dry, teasing* cough, coming on first before 
the chill, and continuing during the chill, in inter- 
mittent fever. 

Pains as if sprained ; ailments from spraining, 
straining, or lifting, particularly from stretching 
arms high up to reach things. 

Putting the hand from under the bed covers 
brings on the cough. 

Restlessness at night ; obliged to change posi- 
tion frequently. 

Soreness as if beaten in the hypochondriac re- 
gion, and still greater soreness of the abdomen; 
*\vorse on the side on which the patient lies ; worse 
when turning, and when beginning to move. 

Aching in left arm, with disease of the heart. 

Bh e u ma t ic pa ra 7 \ r sis . 

Muscular rheumatism of left side ; sciatica, left 
side. 

PULSATILLA. 

Wind Flower. Meadow Anemone. Germany. 

Tincture. 

Mild, gentle and yielding disposition; is sad 
and desponding; weeps about everything; can 
hardly give symptons on account of weeping. 

Menstrual colic, with great restlessness; tossing 
in every possible direction ; catamenia too late and 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 215 

scanty, or suppressed, particularly by getting feet 
wet. 

Thirstlessness with all complaints ; rarely vio- 
lent thirst. 

Stomach disordered by eating cakes, pastry, 
and rich food, particularly fat pork. 

Coryza, fluid or dry, with loss of smell and 
taste; sore nostrils, later a yellowish green dis- 
charge. 

Wandering pains shifting rapidly from one part 
to another; also with swelling and redness of joints. 

Wetting the bed ; particularly by little girls. 

Believed in the open air, worse on retiring to a 
close and warm room; feels sick on entering a 
warm room. 

Bad taste in the mouth, especially early in the 
morning; nothing tastes good, or no taste at all. 

Diarrhoea, with varying stools ; no two stools 
alike. 

Fat food disagrees, and is so obnoxious that 

the mention of it disgusts. 

All evil results through menses becoming ir- 
regular from getting feet wet. 

PODOPHYLLUM. 

Mandrake. May Apple. Tincture. 
Prolapsus ani with stool, or from least motion. 
Faintness, with sensation of emptiness in 



216 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

abdomen, after stool; frequent, painless, watery, 
gushing, fetid stool, with mealy sediment; mixed 
with mucus, offensive. 

A ets specially upon the liver and digestive tract. 

Morning diarrhoea, with green, bilious evacua- 
tions. 

Depression of spirits. 

Morning headaches, with heat in vertex. 
Giddiness and dizziness with sensation of ful- 
ness over the eyes. 

Offensive odor from the stomach. 

Tongue coated ; foul taste. 

Dryness of the throat. 

Loss of appetite. 

Depleted feeling in stomach. 

Desire for something sour. 

Great thirst for large quantities of water. 

Continued jaundice, with gall stones. 

Alternate diarrhoea and constipation; stools 
frequent and painless. 

Green, yellow, watery, sour, undigested feces, 
mixed with mucus, offensive. 

Pain under rio-ht shoulder blade. 

PHOS. ACID. 

AcUhun Phosphoricum. Phosphoric Acid. 

Tincture. 

Quiet ; perfectly indifferent. 
Incapacity for thought. 



MATERIA MEDIC A. 217 

Disinclination to talk ; answers questions reluc- 
tantly. 

Involuntary stools, thin, whitish gray. 

Frequent and debilitating emissions. 

Weakness of sexual organs, with little sexual 
desire. 

Great weakness and prostration, especially in 

the morning. 

Lascivious dreams. 

PHYTOLACCA. 

Poke. Pigeon Berry. Garget. America. Tincture. 

Throat sore ; fauces congested, and of a dark 
red color ; dryness of throat ; tonsils swollen. 

With every attempt to swallow, excruciating 
pain through both ears. 

Acts specially on the glandular system; also 
acts prominently on the periosteum and skin. 

Sensation of soreness deep in brain ; sore pains 
over the head, worse on right side. 

Chalk-like sediment in the urine. 

Syphilis, primary and secondary, chancres on 
penis. 

Menses too frequent and too copious. 

Bleeding hemorrhoids, diarrhoea of mucus and 
blood, or resembling scrapings from the intestines. 

Urine acid and albuminous. 



218 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Nipples sensitive, cracked and excoriated. 
Rheumatic pains in arms and hands. 
Ulcers and nodes on legs. 
Great exhaustion and prostration. 
Pains always more severe at night. 

Bright's Disease, ulcerated sore throat, rheu- 
matism. 

Diphtheria, swellings and suppuration, espe- 
ciall}^ mammary congestion. Mativitis. 

PHOSPHORUS. 

Tincture and Trituration. 
Constipation, the feces being slender, long, 
narrow, dry, tough and hard like a dog's, and 
voided with difficulty. 

Slight wounds bleed much; hemorrhagic dia- 
thesis. 

As soon as water becomes warm in the 
stomach, it is thrown up. 

Dry, tickling cough in the evening, with tight- 
ness across the chest; expectoration in the morning. 

Frequent diarrhoea during cholera time; gushes 
forth as from a hydrant ; no control over sphinc- 
ter ani. 

Tall, slender women. 

Pain in the chest with coughing, relieved by 
external pressure ; cough worse when going from a 
warm room into the cold air. 



MATE EI A ME DIC A. 219 

Trembling of the whole body while coughing. 
Inability to talk on account of pain in larynx. 
Threatened softening of brain. 
Phthisis. Pneumonia. Brain fag. 

NUX VOMICA. 

Poison Nut. Quaker Buttons. Hindostan. Tinct- 
ure and Trituration. 

With very particular, zealous, careful persons 
inclined to get excited and angry, or of a spiteful, 
malicious disposition. 

Inability to keep from falling asleep in the 
evening hours before bed-time. 

Nose running during the day ; at night stopped 
up. 

Patient awakes at 3 A.M., lies awake for hours 
with a rush of thoughts ; falls asleep in the later 
morning with troublesome dreams, and rises more 
tired than in the evening. 

Frequent and ineffectual desire to defecate, or 
passing small quantities of faeces at each attempt, 
with a feeling as if evacuation was not complete. 

Hypochondriasis, afflicting studious men, sit- 
ting too much at home, with abdominal complaints 
and costiveness. Dyspepsia. 

Head feels distended ; headache of drunkards ; 



220 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

food lies like a stone on stomach; much sour 
belching. 

Bad effects from sedentary habits, coffee, rich 
food, late hours, etc. 

NITRIC ACID. 

Aqua Fort is. Aqueous Solution. 

Sensation as of a splinter in the throat; used 
after abuse of mercury. 

Yery strong smelling urine, like horse urine. 

Hemorrhage from the bowels in typhoid and 
other diseases. 

Secondary and tertiary syphilis, after abuse of 
mercury. 

Hemorrhage after abortion or confinement, 
with violent pressure, as if uterus were coming out 
at vulva; with pain in small of the back, through 
the hips, and down the thighs. 

LYCOPODIIM. 

Club Moss. Germany. Trituration. 

All symptoms worse from 4 to 8 P. M.; pain in 
back relieved by urinating ; red sand in the urine. 

Sudden repletion in dyspepsia. 

Much rumbling of wind in left hypochondriac 
region. Dyspepsia. 

Chill from 4 to 8 P. M. 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 221 

Violent rheumatic pain, especially about the 
chest, threatening the heart, when characteristic 
symptoms exist. 

Pale, dirty, unhealthy complexion ; child cries 
before urinating. 

Diaper stained reddish yellow, sometimes red 
sand on diaper. 

Sense of satiety after eating very little. 

Fan-like motion of alae nasi. 

LILIUM TIG. 

Tiger Lily. North America. Tincture. 

Flabby, weak, atonic condition of uterus and 
ovaries; dragging-down feeling, better from pres- 
sure below ; pain going from one groin through to 
the other, then down the leg. 

The heart feels as though it were pressed be- 
tween two flat, hard substances; the pain ceases, 
begins again, and again ceases. 

A full, distended feeling in all parts of the body. 

Headache running up back of head ; feeling as 
if going insane. 

Frequent urination during the day, and con- 
tinuous pressure on the bladder. 

Constant desire to urinate, with scanty dis- 
charge. 

Frequent burning and smarting in the urethra. 



222 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Sharp, quick pain in left side of chest, with 
fluttering of the heart. 

Also useful in all ovarian irritations or dis- 
placements. 

LACHESIS. 

Trigonocephalus Lachesis. Brazil. Trituration 

of Virus. 

Hemorrhoids ; especially in drunkards, and in 
women at the climacteric, with pain darting up 
into the rectum every time they sneeze or cough. 

Always worse after sleep; great mania and 
loquacity ; suspicious ev^en of friends. 

Typhoid fever ; whites of eyes orange colored ; 
trembling of the tongue, which catches on the teeth 
when protruded. 

Extreme ia tolerance of pressure about the ab- 
domen ; clothes feel too tight. 

Diphtheria, beginning on the left side and ex- 
tending to the right; dark, purplish appearance 
of throat, with stringy, mucous discharge; intoler- 
ance of the least pressure about the throat. 

For all troubles at climacteric period, lachesis 
has no equal. 

Suddenly something runs from the neck to the 
larynx, and interrupts, breathing complete^; 
wakens patient at night. (Spasm of the glottis.) 



MATERIA MEDIC A. 223 

Uterus does not bear contact, and has to be 
relieved of all pressure; frequent lifting of the 
clothes, they causing uneasiness in abdomen. 

Chills at night and flashes of heat by day. 

Much pain of an aching kind in shin bones. 

A tormenting, constant urging in the rectum, 
not for a stool. 

Catamenia at the regular time, but too short 

and feeble, 

Pains in uterine region ; increase at times more 

and more till relieved by a flow of blood from the 

vagina; after a few hours or days the same again, 

and so on. 

Ulcers, carbuncles, boils, etc., when they present 

a dark, purplish appearance. 

IPECACUANHA. 

Ipecac. South America. Tincture and Trituration. 

Stools grassy green, with nausea and griping ; 
pinching pain about the umbilicus. 

Great nausea with all troubles. 

Metrorrhagia; blood bright red and continual- 
ly flowing; great nausea. 

Phlegm rattling in chest, sometimes vomited 
up in young children. 

Distressing feeling in the abdomen, as though 
the stomach Avere hanging down relaxed. 



224 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Stools as if fermented, green -as grass, with 
nausea mid colic. 

Stooping causes patient to vomit. 

During hemorrhage from the womb, patient 
breathes heavily. 

Backache; short chill; long fever; principally 
heat with thirst, headache, nausea, cough and 
sweat. 

With every movement a cutting pain, almost 
constantly running from left to right. 

Vomiting, sweating, thirst, with bad breath. 

NAUSEA. 

KALI BICHROMICUM. 

Bi-Chromate of Potash. Trituration. 

Diphtheria; tough, stringy, ropy mucus; patch- 
es dotted here and there on tonsils ; pain shooting 
up into the ear. 

Headache in frontal sinuses; biting pain on 
bridge of nose ; better from pressure. 

Bladder-like appearance of the uvula with 
much swelling, but very little redness. 

Leucorrhoea, stringy, ropy. 

All secretions from mucus membranes are ropy 
and tough ; whooping cough, with tough expecto- 
ration. 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 225 

Expectoration of much thick, tenacious mucous 
in the morning. 

Pale, yellowish complexion ; tongue smooth, 
red and cracked. 

Complete loss of appetite. 

Vomiting of a thin, pinkish, glairy fluid, sour, 
indigestible bile. 

Dysentery; stool consisting of brown, frothy 
water, or bloody, with painful pressure, urging 
and tenesums. 

Pain in coccyx while sitting. 

Great dryness of the nose; dryness of the mouth. 

Bones feel bruised. 

IGNATIA AMARA. 

St. Ignatius' Bean. Philippine Islands. Tritura- 
tion. 

Silent, suppressed grief; spasmodic laughter 
and grief. 

Patient is full of grief. Frequent involuntary 
sighing, with sensation of goneness or emptiness in 
pit of stomach. 

Headache increased when smoking tobacco or 
taking snuff, or from being where another is smok- 
ing. 

During the chill, thirsty; external warmth 



226 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

pleasant; during the fever heat, no thirst; external 
warmth very unpleasant. 

Spasmodic affections of children consequent on 
being put to bed soon after punishment. 

Headache as if a nail were driven through the 
side of head ; relieved by lying on it. 

Amiable disposition if feeling well, but disturbed 
by every slight emotion. 

Patient seems to be weighed down by suppressed 
grief ; broods over imaginary troubles. 

Ailments from grief, or suppressed mental suf- 
ferings. 

Bad effects from disappointed love ; also from 
the use of tobacco. 

HEPAR SULPHUR. 

Calcarea Sulph urate . Li ver of Sulph ur. Sulph uret 
of Lime. Trituration. 

Fetid diarrhoea, the child smelling sour; sour 
exhalation from body. 

Stomach inclined to be out of order; longing 
for sour or strong tasting things. 

Extreme sensitiveness of skin to cold air, the 
least exposure causing cough. 

Croupy, choking, strangling cough, brought 

on by exposure to dry west winds. (Aeon.) 



MATERIA ME DIC A. 227 

Ulcers have a bloody suppuration, smelling like 
old cheese. 

Sensation as of a fish bone in the throat. 

Cannot bear to be uncovered; coughs when any 

part of the body is uncovered. 

Sweats day- and night without relief. 

Unhealthy skin ; boils, carbuncles. 

Croup, with choking, strangling cough. 

GRAPHITES. 

Carburetum Ferri. Plumbago. Black-lead. 
Trituration. 

Eruptions; oozing out of a thick, honey-like 
fluid, especially behind the ears. 

Burning, circumscribed round spot on top of 
the head. 

Unhealthy looking skin; every injury suppu- 
rates and throws out a honey-like fluid. 

Mastitis in all cases where there are many old 
cicatrices from former ulcerations; milk can scarce- 
ly flow. 

Phlegmonous erysipelas of head and face, with 
burning, tingling pain. 

• Constipation; stool slarge, difficult and knotty. 

Unwholesome abscesses, with constipation, es- 
pecially in young females having too much un- 
healthy adipose tissue. 



228 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Tinea and eczema-capitis in children, when 
there exudes the peculiar honey-like fluid. 

GELSEMIUM. 

Yellow Jessamine. Carolina Jessamine. America. 

Tincture. 

Fever without thirst ; patient wants to lie still; 
inflamed tonsil on right side. 

"Goose flesh" over whole body. 

Cerebro-spinal meningitis; head drawn back 
and to one side. 

Vertigo, with dim vision; tongue feels thick 
and numb — as if paralyzed. 

Muscular paralysis and spasms, with wave-like 
sensation from uterus to throat. 

Headache on right side; pain over right orbit, 
with flushed face and injected sclera. 

Diarrhoea, caused and aggravated by every 
little excitement. 

Trembling, paralytic weakness, especially of the 
lower limbs ; motor paralysis. 

FERRUM. 

Metallic Iron. Trituration. • 

Menses occur too soon and are too profuse; 
ringing in the ears; fiery red face; menses intermit, 
and are very pale. 



MATEBIA MEDIC A. 229 

Diarrhoea, more severe in the morning; dis- 
turbed sleep before midnight. 

Ashy pale or greenish face ; with pains or other 
symptoms, the face becomes bright red. [Have 
cured intermittent fever when these face symptoms 
were prominent.] 

Severe frontal headache, with cold feet. 

Loss of the hair. 

Cadaverous, earthy complexion . 

Blue rings round the eyes, which are dull and 
lusterless. 

Voracious appetite. 

Great weakness and prostration; very easily 
fatigued. 

Skin pale, yellow, dirty, withered, flabby. 

Restless sleep at night. 

Roaring in the ears. 

Passive congestion of female organs, uterine 
displacements, chlorosis in scrofulous patient, sup- 
purative stage of tuberculosis, scrofulous affec- 
tions generally. 

CANTHARIS. 

Spanish Fly. Tincture. 

Scalds and burns. 

Intense sexual desire ; nymphomania. 

Much burning in throat and stomach. 



230 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Stools like scrapings of intestines; shreddy, red 
or white mixed with blood, with burning and biting 
pain when urinating. 

Constant desire to urinate, passing but a few 
drops at a time, which is mixed with blood. 

Tenesmus vesicae after urinating. 

Violent burning, cutting pains in urethra 
before, during, and after urination. 

Pain in the loins, kidneys, and abdomen, with 
such intense pain on urination, that the patient 
cannot pass a single drop without moaning. 

Especially useful in acute cystitis, nephritis 
and inflammatory strangury. Also in Bright's 
Disease, ovaritis, sterility, and inflammation of 
serous membranes. 

CALCAREA PHOS. 

Phosphate of Lime. Trituration. 
Slow formation of bones. 

Delayed closure, or reopening, of fontanelles; 
child cannot hold up its head. 

Children lose flesh ; will not stand; do not learn 

to walk ; slow dentition. 
Osteo malachia. 
Fistula in ano. 
Weakness and distress in the region of the 

uterus, worse during passage of stool and urine. 
Flabby, shrunken, emaciated children. 



MATERIA MEDIC A. 231 

CALCAREA CARB. 

Carbonate of Lime. Trituration. 

Children with dry and flabby skin, large open 
fontanelles, and profuse perspiration which wets 
the pillow far around the child's head. 

Patient delicate in general; walking produces 
great fatigue; vertigo on ascending a height or 
going upstairs; easily becomes out of breath, and 
is obliged to sit down. 

Feet feel as though clothed with cold, damp 
stockings ; continually cold in bed. 

Despairing mental condition, hopeless of 
recovery. 

Menses occur too often, are too profuse and 
lasting; difficult to stop menstruating. 

The least excitement causes menses to return. 

Very sensitive to least cold air, which seems to 
go through and through the patient. 

All objects appear as if seen through a mist. 

Bad dreams and horrid visions when closing 
the eyes. 

Leuco-phlegmatic condition of scrofulous 
women. 

Great longing for eggs, particularly in children 

when sick or convalescent. 

Patient fears insanity, or that people will 
observe and believe him to be insane. 



232 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Cannot endure tight clothing around the hypo- 
chondria; the head and upper part of the body 
sweat profusely. 

Children self-willed ; inclined to grow fat. 

Scrofulous ulcers, chorea, epileptiform convul- 
sions, etc., of scrofulous origin. 

CACTUS GRANDIFLORUS. 

Night Bloomimg Cereus. Tincture of Flowers. 

Feeling as though an iron hand were around 
the heart, preventing its normal action. 

Hypertrophy, rheumatism, and palpitation of 
the heart. 

Palpitation of heart day and night, especially 
when lying on left side. 

Heart feels as if clasped and unclasped repeat- 
edly by a strong hand. 

Congestion in the chest which prevents lying 
down ; palpitation, constipation. 

Acute and chronic affections of the heart. 

MACROTIN. 

Snake Root. 

Disordered menstruation, leucorrhoea, hysteria, 
rheumatism. 

Pains in the back and loins, dragging sensa- 
tion in the lower part of the bowels. 



MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 233 

Delay or suppression of the menses; pains in 
the top of the head. 

TARTAR EMETICUS. 

Tartar Emetic. 

Catarrh, bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, diar- 
rhoea and small-pox. 

Nausea, watery diarrhoea, accumulation of 
loose mucus in the windpipe and bronchial tubes. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 

On this subject, Daniel Clark, A. M., says : 
"In the present stage of electric science, the con- 
viction has become very general among experiment- 
ers that galvanism, magnetism, faradism, Mo- 
tional electricity, and the electricity of the storm- 
cloud are, in their essential nature, one and the 
same thing, being diversified in appearance and 
effects by the different modes and circumstances of 
their development. This conclusion has been 
reached in various ways, chiefly, perhaps, by ob- 
serving the many analogies between the phenom- 
ena of these several forces, and also by the fact 
that each of them can be made to produce, or be 
produced by, one or more of the other. There are 
two phases of the electric principle which are not 



234 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

generally classed here. I refer to the forces of 
animal and vegetable vitality. Of the animal, I 
regard the nervous fluid, or nervous influence, 
popularly so called, as being the very principle of 
animal vitalization— the life force— and a modifica- 
tion of the electric forces. It is, I think, generally 
considered that the nervous influence is electric. 

"There are some alleged facts which go far to 
sustain this view. It is said that if a steel needle 
is transfixed into a large nerve of a living animal, 
and allowed to remain in that position a sufficient 
length of time, the needle becomes permanently 
magnetic. So, too, if the point of a lancet be held 
for some time between the severed ends of a newly 
divided larger nerve, that point becomes magnetic, 

"But the fact on which I chiefly rely for evi- 
dence of this identification, being almost daily 
conversant with it in my practice, is this: The 
nervous influence obeys the laws of electrical polar- 
ization, attraction, and repulsion. 

"When I treat a paralyzed part in which the 
nerve is suspended, to all appearance, I have but to 
assume that this force is electric and apply the 
poles of the instrument accordingly, and bring it 
in from the more healthy parts, along with the in- 
organic current from the machine. 



MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 235 

" Forcing conduction through the nerves by- 
means of the artificial apparatus, I rouse the sus- 
ceptibility of the nerves until they will normally 
conduct the nervous influence, or electro-vital fluid, 
and the paralysis is removed. Again, if I treat an 
inflamed part in which the capillaries are gorged 
with arterial blood, I have but to assume that the 
affected part is overcharged with the electro-vital 
fluid through the nerves and arterial blood, and 
so apply the electrodes, according to well-known 
electrical modes, as to produce mutual repulsion, 
and the inflammatory action is sure to be re- 
pressed. This is so perfectly regular and constant 
that I am entirely assured, before touching the 
patient, what sort of effect will be produced by this 
or that arrangement in the application of the poles 
of the instrument. If I desire to increase or depress 
the nervous force in any case, I find myself able on 
this principle to produce the one effect or the other, 
at will. Hence, I say the nervous influence obeys 

the electric laws just as does the inorganic electric- 
ity. The author of my principles and practice 
says: 'We find this subtle agent not only in the 
nerves, but also in the muscles and blood, more 
especially in arterial blood: indeed, it seems to 
pervade more or less the entire solids and fluids of 
the animal system.' 



236 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

"Vegetable vitality is another modification of 
the electrical force. The fact has been proven by re- 
peated experiments that galvanic currents, passed 
among the roots of plants, cause a development 
almost incredible to any one who has neither seen 
nor heard its rationale. I have seen it stated that 
by this process lettuce leaves may be grown within 
a few hours only, from the size of a mouse's ear to 
dimensions large enough for convenient use upon 
the dinner table. The following experiment has 
been related by Judge Caton, of Ottawa, 111., and 
subsequently confirmed by his brother, Deacon 
Win. P; Catori, of Plainfield, in the same state. 
It is said that the Judge had some choice ever- 
greens which appeared to be affected by unhealthy 
influences, causing a suspension of growth, and 
a withering of branches here and there, until 
such branches died. So the process went on, 
terminating finally in the death of the tree. In 
this way he lost some valuable specimens. At 
length a very fine and favorite tree was similarly 
attacked. He, of course, annoyed at the destruct- 
ive process, and especially reluctant to lose so fine 
a specimen of evergreen, called to mind something 
analogous to what I have referred to, and resolved 
to try the efficacy of galvanization in re-inforcing 



MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 237 

the vitality of the shrub. Having a telegraph wire 
extending from the main line, in Ottawa, to his 
residence, he availed himself of this facility and 
caused the wire to be passed among the roots of 
the tree in such a way as to bring the galvanic cur- 
rent to act upon them. It was not long before he 
observed, to his delight, a new foliage starting 
from the twigs, and after a little time the tree was 
again flourishing in all its beauty. 

"To insure the success of such experiments, 
proper regard must be given to polarization. 
This may not have been the case in the example 
just related, but if not, the Judge must have 
stumbled upon the correct application of the poles, 
as to have brought the roots under the influence 
of the wrong pole would have been fatal to the 
tree. Now, if taken by themselves, such experi- 
ments could not be regarded as conclusive in favor 
of the electric nature of vegetable vitality, notwith- 
standing that this theory best explains the phe- 
nomena : yet, when considered in connection with 
the fact that the nervous fluid of the animal king- 
dom is evidently a modification of electricity, and 
probably constitutes the vital force of the animal, 
the theory of its identification under another 
modification with the vital principle in the vege- 



238 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

table kingdom also, as deduced from experiments 
like those just mentioned, receives strong confirm- 
ation, and is now, I believe, being adopted by the 
best philosophers of the age. When we have 
settled upon the position that the electricity of the 
heavens and that of the artificial machine are 
identical, and their identity essentially one with 
galvanism, magnetism, the electro-vital fluid of 
the animal, and the life force of the vegetable king- 
dom, it requires no extravagant imagination, nor 
remarkable degree of enthusiastic credulity, to 
suppose that all forms of physical attraction and 
repulsion are manifestations of the same all-per- 
vading agent — electricit}'. I feel no hesitation in 
expressing the belief that electricit}^, in one phase 
or another, and controlled only by the will, is the 
grand motive power of the universe. 

"It is fast becoming a generally received opin- 
ion among modern savants, that every body in 
nature is really magnetic, more or less, and that 
all visible or sensible changes are but the result of 
changing poles. Chemical affinities and revulsions 
are believed to be only the more delicate forms of 
electrical attractions and repulsions : the ultimate 
particles of matter, no less than matter in masses, 
being subject to the control of electrical laws. The 



MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 239 

imponderable agents, light and caloric, under the 
ingenious tests of scientific scrutiny, are beginning 
to give some very decided indications of being- 
simple electric phenomena. Indeed, the doctrine 
or theory that supposes caloric to be simply atomic 
motion is even now being generally accepted by the 
scientific world, and also the theory that motion in 
the atoms of a body which causes in us the sensa- 
tions of heat is probably electric motion. And per- 
mit me to observe that, though the operations of 
nature seem at first thought to be wonderfully 
complex and mysterious, yet if the views here pre- 
sented be correct, the marvel is changed to a pro- 
found admiration of the simplicity of the means 
by which the Almighty conducts His material 
operations. 

14 A single agent made to perform processes so 
infinitely numerous, diversified and apparently 
complex. How amazing! Simplicity in complex- 
ity : majestic, like the mind of God! 

PHILOSOPHY OF DISEASE AND ITS CURE. 

"Every disease is either pret era atur ally posi- 
tive or negative. You will bear in mind that all 
acutely inflammatory or hypersthenic affections 
are electrically positive in excess, having too much 
vital action, being overcharged with the electro- 



240 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

vital fluid: and that all paralytic diseases, or 
those of a sluggish, zoodynamic character are 
electrically negative, possessing too little vital 
fluid. By a universal law of electricity, positives 
repel each other: but positive and negative attract. 
"This is a principle of electric action universally 
admitted where the subject is at all understood. 
We apply it practically to therapeutic purposes. 
Therefore, when I wish to repress or repel the in- 
flammation which is electrically positive in excess, 
I place the positive pole to it, or at least bring it 
under that half of the circuit with which the posi- 
tive pole is connected, and as near to the pole as 
possible. And because two positives repel each 
other, and also because the direction of the current 
is from the positive to the negative pole, carrying 
the electro-vital fluid with it, either I must with- 
draw the positive electrode, orthat excess of electro- 
vitality in the diseased part which makes it mor- 
bidly positive, and thus produces inflammation, 
must give way. I will not withdraw the positive, 
therefore the positive inflammation must retreat 
and be dispersed. In treating this case, I will place 
the negative electrode either on some healthy part, 
or if there be perceptible anywhere in the system a 
morbidly negative part, as is often the case, I place 
the negative there. 



MEDICAL ELECTRICITY. 241 

"For example, if I am treating nephritis, when 
I do not perceive any part to be abnormally nega- 
tive, I manipulate with the positive pole over the 
inflamed kidney, having the negative electrode 
placed at the coccyx. The positive pole repels in- 
flammation from the kidney, or rather expels from 
it that excess of electro- vital fluid which makes it 
morbidly positive, while the negative pole attracts 
the same toward the coccyx. On its way it be- 
comes more or less distributed to adjacent nerves, 
or, if gathered in the healthy parts under the nega- 
tive pole, it is immediately dispersed by the normal 
circulation as soon as the electrode is removed. 

"But if I find a spinal irritation, say in one or 
more of the cervical or dorsal vertebrses, and at 
the same time a stomach affected with chronic 
dyspepsia, accompanied with constipation of the 
bowels, I will work over the irritated or inflamed 
spine with the positive pole, because I know from 
its irritation that there is an excess of electro-vital 
fluid making it improperly positive, and with the 
negative electrode I will at the same time treat the 
stomach and bowels and liver, because I know 
from the inaction of these organs that there is a 
lack of vital force — they are too negative. Adopt- 
ing this method, I accomplished two objects in the 



242 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

same treatment : first, the positive pole applied to 
the spinal disease repels from it the excess of 
electro-vital fluid, which is there doing mischief. 
Second, the negative attracts the same, along 
with the artificial or inorganic electricity, to the 
stomach and wherever else it is wanted, since nega- 
tives attract positives. 

"But suppose I do as the majority of physi- 
cians who use electricity without regard to polar- 
ity. That is, if treating acutely inflamed eyes, 
apply the negative pole to the eyes, thinking there- 
by to make them more negative, or, if treating 
amaurosis, apply the positive pole to the affected 
part, thinking thereby to make it more positive. 
Do you not see that by the fixed laws of electricity 
I necessarily increase the evil I am seeking to rem- 
edy ? Do you not see that by placing the negative 
pole upon the already overcharged and inflamed 
eyes, I attract to them yet more of the electro- 
vital fluid, increase their positive condition and 
aggravate the inflammation, and that, by present- 
ing the positive pole to the eye already more or 
less paralyzed, I repel what little electro-vitality 
they possessed, and so make the nerves more nega- 
tive and dead? And yet, I repeat it, this is pre- 
cisely the plan of nearly all those who use electric- 



MEDICAL ELECTBICITY. 243 

ity in therapeutic practice without any regard to 
polarization — directly antagonistic to science and 
success. But the great mass of physicians who 
attempt to treat electrically have no knowledge 
either of the electrical conditions of the various 
forms of disease, or of the distinctive and peculiar 
effects produced by either pole of the artificial cur- 
rent, consequently, their use of this powerful agent 
is entirely empirical; merely hap-hazard experi- 
ments. 

"I may have raised an inquiry a few moments 
since, which ought to be answered. I said that in 
treating a positive disease, such, perhaps, as in- 
flammatory rheumatism, or acute pleurisy , I would 
use the positive pole on the inflamed parts, and 
the negative pole on either some healthy part or 
on a morbidly negative part, if I could find such. 
So, too, I would treat a negative disease, such as 
amaurosis, or torpidity of the liver, with the nega- 
tive pole, placing the positive upon some healthy 
or morbidly positive part. The query may have 
arisen : by placing the one pole or the other upon 
a healthy part, do you not derange the normal 
electro-vital action there, disturbing its healthy 
polarization? I answer, yes, for the time being, I 
do ; and if this disturbing force were steadily con- 



244 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

tinued for any length of time, the disturbance 
would produce manifest and serious disease. But 
then a pole placed on a healthy part Ave generally 
move, or ought to move, more or less every mo- 
ment, which prevents the establishment of any per- 
verted action in the part, and the moment the 
electrode is withdrawn the normal polarization 
and health v action are resumed. 

"Relaxed and atrophied conditions should be 
carefully observed in this treatment. An atrophied 
muscle or organ becomes soft and flabby from lack 
of nourishment. But this condition is not proper- 
ly one of relaxation. It is a diminution, a thin- 
ning out of atoms by wasting without replenish- 
ment. Such a condition is negative, and requires 
treatment under the negative pole. On the con- 
trary, relaxed parts, such as appear in prolapsus 
uteri, and in the sagging down of the diaphragm, 
thoracic and abdominal viscera, exhibit no lack of 
nutrition or of vital action. 

"Relaxation is a loosening of atoms from each 
other, more or less without loss of aggregate 
weight, and implies a condition electrically positive 
in excess, requiring treatment with the positive 
pole." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRO-HOM(EOPATHY. 

The efficiency and superiority of small doses of 
medicine in curing disease, when applied according 
to the law of similars, is a fact that can no longer 
be disputed. A drug able to produce fever will 
also destroy it when introduced into the body in 
attenuated doses. Homoeopathy, by applying this 
principle, has continually obtained remarkable 
results. Electro-Homoeopathy is a new step in 
developing and perfecting Homoeopathy. It excels 
Hahnemann's discovery in simplicity and relia- 
bility ; its remedies also gaining greater curative 
power through the peculiar manner in which they 
are prepared. The word electro (or electric) is 
suggestive of the prompt action of the remedies, 
and distinguishes them from those of the regular 
Homoeopathic Pharmacopeia. The discoverer of 
the new method is Count Cesare Mattei, of Italy, 
who, like Hahnemann and Eademacher, starts from 
the true principle that every disease is caused by 
vitiated fluids in the system, and that a cure can 
only be obtained if directed against those altered 
fluids, lymph and blood. Every disease is produced 



246 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

bythe vitiated condition of the blood or lymph, or 
both. Whether the immediate cause be germs or 
noxious gases, etc., is of minor importance so far 
as the treatment is concerned, because the remedies 
act on the blood, lymph; or nerves, and enables 
the organism to disengage itself from the morbid 
principles causing the abnormal condition. Conse- 
quently, there are three principal remedies, each 
including different potencies, a few auxiliary reme- 
dies, and the fluid electricities. — Electro-Homoeo- 
pathic Guide. 

Electro-Homoeopathy is a revolution in medi- 
cine. It is the medicine of the future, for many so 
called incurable diseases can be radically cured 
by this means; certainly not in the very last 
stages, but even then relief will be given, and 
perhaps a cure obtained. That "there is no remedy 
for death" is certainly true, but there is no reason 
why man should succumb to so many diseases 
heretofore considered incurable. 

THE ELECTRO-HOMOEOPATHIC REMEDIES. DOSES AND 
METHOD OF ADMINISTRATION WHEN PRE- 
PARED AS PILLS. 

We here give general indications as to the 
doses of the remedies; absolute rules cannot be 
given, since constitutions vary infinitely; numer- 



PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRO-HOMEOPATHY. 247 

ous exceptions may occur which must be left to 
individual observation. 

The ordinary dose, for internal use, is fixed at 
one pill of the first dilution, daily. The second 
dilution is better adapted to many cases, especially 
those of women and all persons exceptionally 
sensitive. 

In addition to one pill of the first dilution, 
given in water, from 10 to 20 pills are given dry, 
either of the same or another remedy ; in the last 
case alternating it with the first remedy dissolved 
in water. The third dilution is only given in 
extremely violent cases, such as hysteria, epilepsy, 
typhus fever, etc. 

Dilutions. The first dilution is obtained by 
dissolving a pill in a pint glass of drinking water ; 
also called the first glass. 

To make the second dilution, take two tea- 
spoonfuls of the first, put it into a second pint 
glass, which is to be filled with pure water. This is 
the second glass. 

The third is prepared in like manner by taking 
a teaspoonful of the second glass. 

The remedy is taken by teaspoonfuls in such 
manner as to finish the prescribed quantity during 
the day. 



248 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

It must be remembered that the dose should 
be diminished in proportion to the gravity or 
violence of the disease, and that the more the dose 
is weakened, the more frequently the teaspoonfuls 
should be administered. Thus the first dilution 
would be taken, for an intermittent fever, by 
exhausting the glass in 15 or 20 doses; for typhus, 
a teaspoonful of the second dilution would be 
given every five or seven minutes. 

External Use. — The pills are used externally 
in different ways ; namely, in baths, compresses, 
unctions and gargles. 

To medicate an ordinary bath (soft water), 
dissolve 100, 150 or 200 pills in a glass, sepa- 
ratelv, then add this solution to the bath. 

For compresses and gargles, dissolve 20 pills 
in an ordinary glass of water. 

For unctions, dissolve 5 pills in a little 

water ; add a spoonful of oil or lard without salt, 
and mix thoroughly. Electricities are also used 
for baths and gargles. The proportion is three 

TABLE-SPOONFULS of ELECTRICITY for the BATH, and 

8 to 10 drops for a gargle. The compresses 
should be renewed three times daily, or oftener, 
according to the effect produced. It should not be 



PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRO-HOMEOPATHY. 249 

necessary to repeat that the external action of the 

PILLS IS THE SAME AS THE INTERNAL. 

As the disease diminishes, doses should be 
given less frequently, and the first dilution should 
be administered instead of the second, for the 
reason that the remedy, following the law of simi- 
lars, acts Homoeopathic-ally. Individual sagacity 
must do the greater part in regulating the larger 
or smaller dose required. 

We have observed how colic and dysentery 
were cured, and threatening paralysis averted by 
giving the patient a solution of one pill of scrofo- 
loso 1 in a table-spoonful of water every three 
minutes. 

In grave cases, from forty to fifty pills must be 
given in a glass of water. Dr. Cricca in Smyrna, 
and M. Schmid in the Hotel Kosa cured patients 
suffering from the most malignant fevers, declared 
hopeless, by giving forty to sixty little pills of 

febrifugo 1, and forty drops of white or blue 
electricity. 

The following rules, compiled as the result of 
long experience, should be carefully read: 

I. If the wrong remedy is used, it has no 
effect ; if, on the contrary, it produces aggravation, 
the remedy is correct, but the dose must be lessened 
until no aggravation is produced. 



250 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

II. The effects of a remedy are not doubtful ; 
they are certain, provided the remedy is directed to 
a disease included within its sphere of action. Con- 
sequently, if, after giving several spoonfuls, no 
effect is observed, or if, in spite of the diminution 
of the dose, there is still aggravation, it may be 
concluded that the remedy is not specific for the 
malady. The aggravation in such cases is tem- 
porary, not dangerous. The patient may feel it in 
different ways. 

III. The diet should be healthy and sufficiently 
nourishing. Powerful acids, such as vinegar and 
lemons, must be avoided in grave maladies. 

IV. The remedies should not be mixed ; com- 
presses and unctions of two different remedies 
should be made successively. 

V. In complicated diseases, when several reme- 
dies are used, they must always be given separately. 

ELECTRO-HOMCEOPATHIC REMEDIES AND 
THEIR USES. 

Anti-Scrofoeoso 1 (also called in abbrevia- 
tion, scrofoloso 1, ) has the widest sphere of action of 
any of the remedies. It is the specific for scrofula, 
and for most cutaneous diseases, especially erup- 
tions. It is the best remedy for gout, itch, scabies, 
scurf, cavies, rachitis, consumption, morbid fatness, 



PRINCIPLES OF ELECTEG-HOMEOPATHY. 251 

atrophy, inflammation of the eyes, deafness, 
convulsions, (if originating from the lymph) 
asthma, ischias, cataract, polypus, mania, staphy- 
loma, catarrhal angina, diphtheria, granular sore 
throat, chronic inflammation of the tonsils, gas- 
tritis, gastric ailments of women, seasickness, 
indigestion, vomiting, loss of appetite, gastralgia, 
ascites, with general dropsy dependent on organic 
abdominal disease, diarrhoea, obstinate constipa- 
tion, marasmus, glandular swellings, disorders of 
the urinary and generative system, kidney disease, 
diabetes, coxalgia, articular rheumatism, hysteria, 
epilepsy, fainting, boils, carbuncles, all kinds of 
skin disorders, erysipelas, ulcers, fistulas, whitlow, 
all kinds of eruptive fevers, megrim, neuralgia in 
the head, disorders of the eye, ear and nose, chronic 
coryza, and all disorders dependent on anaemia. 

Taken daily with a beverage, during meals, it 
induces sleep, appetite, strength, and is a pre- 
ventive of disease and infection. 

Scrofoloso 2; (abbreviated scrof. 2, or S. 2.) 
also called scrofoloso nuovo. 

Specific for gastric and rheumatic fevers, (with 
febrifugo 1) loss of hair, megrim, hysteric neural- 
gia, nervous and chronic dyspepsia, goitre, gland- 
ular swellings in the neck, catarrhal cough, croup, 



252 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

hoarseness, chronic venereal disorder, (with ven- 
ereo) paralysis of the hands, sciatica, cramp in 
the legs. 

Scrofoloso 2 must not be taken for an attenu- 
ation of scrofoloso 1 ; quite to the contrary, it is 
a different remedy, composed of special constituents. 

THE ANTIANGIOITICOS. 

Angioiticos cure all disorders arising from a 
vitiated state of the blood, irregular circulation, 
etc. It modifies, corrects and regulates the blood, 
restores it to a healthy state, and eliminates the 
morbific poisons which impede its circulation. 
Vitiation of the blood is indicated by palpitation 
of the heart,violent beating of the arteries, vertigo, 
rush of blood to the head ; loss of blood from the 
nose, stomach, anus, urinary organs, etc.; coldness 
of the extremities, corns, warts, varices. 

Antiangioitico is therefore generally used in 
apoplexy; in swelling, inflammation and beating 
of the arteries; in heart diseases, dropsy of the 
spine or pericarde, in diseases of the chest and 
kidneys, loss of sight, congestion, chlorosis, 
deranged menses, constipation, dysentery, paraly- 
sis, etc. 

Angioitico 1. (ang. 1, or A. 1) has a special 
action in all disorders of bilious and nervous 



PEINCIPLES OF ELECTRO-HOMEOPATHY, 253 

constitutions, inflammatory fevers, typhoid fever 
(with febrifugo), neuralgias, cerebral congestion, 
congestive headache, encephalitis, meningitis, in- 
flamed eyelids, acute and phlegmonous sore 
throats, quinsy, nervous asthma, pleurisy, c nvul- 
sive cough, spitting of blood, acute inflammations 
of the generative organs, metrorrhagia and too 
copious menstruation, metritis, cystitis, menstrual 
colic, rheumatic and gouty inflammations with 
swelling. A specific for paralysis, if caused by 
defective circulation. 

Angioitico 2. (ang. 2, A. 2) is used for all dis- 
orders of the circulation, of the heart, veins and ar- 
teries ; for congestions, varices, aneurisms, hemor- 
rhoids, hysteric disorders arising from deficient 
vitality in the uterine system, articular rheuma- 
tism, epilepsy, jaundice, (with febrifugo) inflamed 
ulcers, metritis, metrorrhagia, sciatica, enteritis, 
pneumonia, pleurisy, hoemoptysis. A specific for 
piles or hemorrhoids. 

Angioitico 3. (ang. 3, A. 3). — Most effective in 
cases of alteration of the blood ; also for nervous 
affections. Used in chronic skin disease, nettle rash, 
(with scrofoloso 5) congestions, sunstroke, hem- 
orrhagic apoplexy, paralysis, gastritis, enteritis, 
constipation with sanguine temperament, ulcera- 



254 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

tion and cancer of the stomach, (with canceroso) 
asthma, quinsy, chronic laryngitis, acute and 
chronic pneumonia, acute bronchitis, uterine 
cancer, etc. 

THE CANCEROSOS. 

The remedies of this group have a special 
action against all diseases which reach such a 
point that they resist the action of the scrofoloso 
medicines. 

Canceroso 1 (can. 1, c. 1). Remedy for 
diseases of the lymph and for cancer. Treatment 
with the cancerosos must begin with this remedy. 
It acts especially on scirrhus cancers, white 
swelling, glands, polypi, inflammation of the ova- 
ries, all troubles of the womb and on leucorrhcea. 
A single grain in a glass of water hastens and 
allevi'ates deliver}^. Canceroso 1 is also used in 
the following disorders : scirrhus and other cancer- 
ous conditions of the breast, cancer of the stomach, 
tongue, shin, nose, lips, uterus, etc.; white swellings, 
spasms, fainting spells and hysteric attacks, 
disorders of pregnancy^ uterine cramp, leucorrhoea, 
dropsy, ascites, w T asting disease in children, inflam- 
mation of the rectum, induration of the liver, (with 
febrifugo) phthisical symptoms, granular laryn- 
gitis, ulcerative or granular throat, diphtheria, 



PRINCIPLES OF ELECTRO-HOMEOPATHY. 255 

all kinds of lung diseases, scurvy, mumps, spinal 
disease, cerebral congestion, acute and chronic gas- 
tritis, typhoid fevers, (with febrifugo) diabetes, and 
disorders of the generative system in both sexes. 

THE FEBRIFUGOS. 

Febrifugo 1 (feb. 1, f. 1). Specific in all kinds 
of fever, intermittent, periodic of all types, remit- 
tent; also specific for neuralgia, etc. Febrifugo 
cures all disorders of the liver and kidneys, acute 
and chronic spleen diseases and hypochondriasis. 

Febrifugo 2 (feb. 2, f. 2). Very efficient in 
all cases of fevers and affections of an intermittent 
type, and diseases of the liver and spleen; is 
always associated with febrifugo 1 in the diseases 
for which that remedy is required; it is adminis- 
tered in unctions and compresses to the abdomen 
and hypochondria. Sometimes it is used internally 
in obstinate cases which resist the action of febri- 
fugo 1. 

VENEREO. 

Antivenereo (ven.), subdues every kind and 
stage of syphilis, being also its preventive. Also 
used for all forms of venereous (syphilitic) disease. 

THE VERMIFUGOS. 

Vermifugo 1. (verm. 1). There are two verm- 
ifugos, each efficient in removing all varieties of 



256 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

worms and suffering therefrom ; the small thread- 
worm, the long round-worm, the tape-worm, etc. 
The proper dose is the 2d attenuation ; should it 
prove inefficient, take from 5 to 40 pills in a glass 
of water. 

Vermifugo 2 (v. 2), as unction on the abdo- 
men, groins and the flanks. 

Yellow electricity, 15 drops before breakfast, 
is a powerful remed,y for worms. 

FLUIDS HAVING ELECTRIC QUALITIES. 

Red Electricity, (elec. red, or el. r.) — Having 
positive action. 

Yellow Electricity, (elec. yell., or el. y.)— 
Having negative action. 

White Electricity, (elec. wht., or el. w.)— 
Having a mixed action ; is always beneficial. 

Blue Electricity, (elec. bl., or el. bl.) — Posi- 
tive, especially adapted to angioitic and asthmatic 
persons. 

Green Electricity, (elec. gr., or el. gr.) — 
Negative, for cancerous wounds and rheumatism 
of the joints. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CAKE OF AND COOKING FOE INVALIDS. 

The most important condition necessary to 
the maintenance of health, and the first requisite 
toward recovery of the sick, is perfect ventilation. 
A sunny exposure, an open fire, and in summer an 
open fireplace, are the greatest aids. Under all 
circumstances, keep the air pure in the sick-room. 
Cut flowers should not be suffered to remain any 
length of time; as soon as their first freshness 
is gone, remove them. The presence of carbon in 
the room, due to the wick of a lamp being turned 
too low, or to any cause whatever, is to be avoid- 
ed as a deadly poison. Keep all medicines away 
from the sick-room, or out of the range of sight 
and smell. 

Place the bed where all danger from draughts 
may be avoided, and always protect the patient's 
eyes from the direct rays of sun or lamp light. 
Frequent change of pictures and new arrangement 
of draperies and furniture is beneficial. It is of the 
utmost importance that all bed -linen and clothing 
should be changed very frequently; it should be 
washed and sunned thoroughly, previous to using. 



258 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Sweep the floor with a damp broom to prevent 
dust rising, or remove dust with a damp cloth. 
Allow no idle curiosity seekers to enter a sick-room; 
neither should a noisy person, of loud speech and 
manner, be admitted. An easy, natural, quiet 
manner in the attendants arouses a feeling of 
security and assurance in the patient. Wines and 
liquors of all kinds are generally injurious to the 
sick, especially when young, and in all fever cases. 
The most important requisite in a sick-room is a 
suitable nurse. 

DIET FOR INVALIDS. 

In fevers, but little nutriment is needed other 
than something light to quench thirst. Heating 
foods are especially injurious. The following reci- 
pes are excellent for use in the sick-room. 

FLOUR OR ARROW ROOT GRUEL. 

Mix two teaspoonfuls flour in a little cold 
water, add one saltspoonful salt, then stir all into 
one cup boiling water; cook five minutes, or 
until of a proper consistency. Add a little sugar if 
desired. If patient has summer complaint, a half 
inch stick cinnamon, or a little nutmeg boiled with 
gruel, is excellent. Flour and starchy gruels are 
not good for patients suffering from typhoid fever. 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS. 259 

MILK PORRIDGE. 

Two dozen raisins quartered, two cups milk, 
one table-spoonful flour, salt to taste. Boil raisins 
in water twenty minutes. Allow the water to boil 
away and add the milk. When it boils, add the 
flour rubbed to a thin paste with a little cold milk. 
Boil eight or ten minutes, and season with a little 
salt. Adding the beaten white of one egg after the 
porridge comes from the stove, improves it. 

BARLEY GRUEL. 

Boil one ounce of pearl barley a few moments 
to cleanse it. Pour off the water, add a quart of 
cold water, a half teaspoonful of salt ; simmer to 
one half, and strain. Excellent for fevers and 
gastric inflammation. 

INDIAN MEAL GRUEL. 

One teaspoonful flour, two table-spoonfuls corn 
meal, one teaspoonful salt, one quart boiling 
water. Mix flour, meal, and salt, working into a 
thin paste with a little cold water. Stir into boil- 
ing water, and boil thirty minutes, stirring fre- 
quently. Thin with milk or cream. Corn meal is 
heating, and not good where there is fever. 

OATMEAL GRUEL. 

Two table-spoonfuls oatmeal, a pinch of salt, 



260 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

one quart boiling water. Boil one hour and serve 
with milk or cream. 

FARINA GRUEL. 

One table-spoonful Hecker's farina, one tea- 
spoonful salt, one cup boiling water, one of milk. 
Cook all together except the milk, for fifteen min- 
utes, or until it thickens, then add the milk and 
boil again. Farina is a preparation of wheat and 
very healthful. 

CRACKER GRUEL. 

Four table-spoonfuls powdered cracker, one cup 
boiling water,, one cup of milk, and a little salt. 
Boil up once and serve fresh. 

EGG GRUEL. 

The yolk of one egg beaten well, one teaspoon- 
ful sugar, one cup hot milk, white of egg beaten to 
a foam. Flavor with nutmeg or lemon. Good for 
cold if taken very hot after retiring. 

PANADA NO. 1. 

One cup stoned raisins, one quart water, two 
slices toasted bread, or one cup bread crumbs, two 
eggs, one table-spoonful sugar. Boil the raisins 
one hour, skim them out, then add bread to the 
boiling water. Boil fifteen minutes, stirring well. 
Beat the eggs, adding sugar, and pour the panada 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS. 261 

over them, stirring constantly. No. 2. — Split 
two fresh graham crackers. Put them into a 
bowl, sprinkle with a little sugar and cover with 
boiling water. Slip them out and serve with a lit- 
tle cream. No. 3. — Boil one table-spoonful cracker 
crumbs five minutes in one cup boiling water, 
slightly sweetened, and flavored with lemon or 
strawberry. 

OATMEAL MUSH FOR INVALIDS. 

One cup granulated oatmeal, pinch of salt, one 
scant quart boiling water. Put meal and salt in a 
double boiler, pour over them boiling water and 
cook two or three hours. Remove the cover just 
before serving and stir slightly with a fork, allow- 
ing steam to escape. Serve with sugar and cream. 
Baked apples, apple sauce, and apple jelly are deli- 
cious eaten with the oatmeal. They should be 
eaten with the mush, the cream being poured over 
both mush and fruit. 

INDIAN MEAL MUSH. 

One cup corn meal, one cup cold milk, one pint 
boiling water, salt to taste. Mix meal and salt 
with cold milk. Stir this gradually into boiling 
water. Cook half an hour in a double boiler, stir- 
ring often. 



262 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

GRAHAM MUSH. 

Mix half cup graham flour and half teaspoonful 
salt into thin, smooth paste, with a little cold 
water. Stir into one pint of boiling water, and 
cook twenty minutes, stirring frequently. Serve 
with cream. Rye mush is excellent made in the 
same manner, eaten also with sugar and cream. 

BRAIN FOOD. (HEALTH FOOD CO.) 

Wet one cup of entire wheat flour in a little 
cold water and stir into one quart of salted boiling- 
water. Cook over hot fire one to two hours. Eat 
hot or cold, with sugar and cream. 

RICE WATER OR JELLY. 

Two table-spoonfuls rice, one quart cold water, 
salt and sugar to taste. Pick over and wash the 
rice and cook in water one hour, or until the rice is 
dissolved. Add a little salt and sugar to taste. If 
desired for jelly, add lemon juice and strain into a 
mold. When cold, serve with sugar and cream. 
If to be used as a drink, add more hot water, mak- 
ing a thin liquid, and boil longer with a half square 
of stick cinnamon. Strain, and serve hot or cold. 
Rice is good in diarrhoea and disentery, being 
easily digested and assimilated. 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS, 263 

TAPIOCA JELLY. 

One fourth cup pearl tapioca, one pint cold 
water, one table-spoonful lemon juice, one heaping 
table-spoonful sugar, salt to taste. Pick over and 
wash the tapioca, add the cold water, and cook in 
a double boiler until entirely dissolved. Then add 
the salt, lemon juice and sugar. Turn into a mold, 
and when cold, serve with sugar and cream. Half 
cup strawberry, blackberry or raspberry jam, or 
currant jelly, may be used instead of lemon, with- 
out loss of quality. 

IRISH MOSS JELLY. 

One half cup Irish moss, one pint boiling water, 
one lemon, one third cup of sugar. Soak the moss 
in cold water until soft, pick over and wash again, 
then put into the boiling water and simmer until 
dissolved. Add lemon juice and sugar, and strain 
into a mold. Currant jelly, instead of lemon, is 
good, or four or five figs steeped with moss is ex- 
cellent. The use of Sea and Iceland moss is recom- 
mended in rheumatic diseases, as they contain bro- 
mine and iodine. 

RESTORATIVE JELLY. 

One half box gelatine, one cup port wine, one 
table-spoonful powdered gum arabic, two table- 
spoonfuls lemon juice, three table-spoonfuls sugar, 



264 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

two cloves. Put all these ingredients together in 
a glass jar and cover closely. Place the jar on a 
trivet in a kettle of cold water, heat slowly and the 
mixture will dissolve. Stir well and strain. Pour 
into a shallow dish and when cool, cut into small 
squares. Good for aged or weak persons. 

GUM WATER. 

One ounce clean gum arabic and half an ounce 
of sugar, dissolved in one pint boiling water, with 
juice of one lemon. Add lemon juice after other 
articles are dissolved, and strain all through a fine 
strainer. This is soothing in inflammation of the 
mucous membrane. 

TOAST WATER. 

Toast one pint of white or brown bread crusts 
very brown, but be careful not to burn. Pour over 
them one pint of cold water, and let stand for one 
hour. Strain, and add cream and sugar to taste. 

CRUST COFFEE. 

Pour one pint of boiling water over two slices 
of brown bread, or white bread toasted. Steep" ten 
minutes and strain. Add sugar and cream to taste. 

CORN TEA OR RICE COFFEE. 

Brown one cup of dried sweet corn or rice; 
pound or grind fine. Add one pint of cold water, 
and steep one hour. Strain and serve with cream 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS. 265 

and sugar. These are very nice beverages for the 
sick, for invalids, or those in perfect health. 

SLIPPERY ELM TEA. 

Pour one cup hot water over one teaspoonful 
of powdered slippery elm bark, or on a piece of the 
fresh bark. When cool, strain through wire strainer 
and flavor with very little lemon. Add a little 
sugar. This is soothing for inflamed mucous 
surfaces. 

ACID FRUIT DRINKS. 

Pour boiling water on mashed cranberries, 
barberries, whortleberries or cherries. When cold, 
strain and sweeten as desired. No. 2. — Stir a 
table-spoonful of any acid jelly or fruit syrup into 
a tumbler of ice water. No. 3. — Dissolve one 
table-spoonful cream of tartar in one pint of water. 
Sweeten to taste. 

APPLE TEA. 

Roast two large, sour apples, cover with 
boiling water. When cool, pour water off, strain 
and sweeten to taste. 

JELLY AND ICE. 

Chip half a cup of ice fine. Mix with it lemon, 
currant, blackberry, cherry, or barberry jelly. 
Excellent in fevers. 



266 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

TAMARIND WATER. 

Boil two ounces of tamarinds with four ounces 
of stoned raisins in three pints of water, for one 
hour. Strain and cool. 

LEMONADE. 

Squeeze the juice from a lemon and add to it 
one table-spoonful sugar. Pour over this one cup 
of boiling water and cool. Drink hot after retiring, 
if taken for a cold. 

FLAXSEED LEMONADE. 

Pour one quart boiling water over four table- 
spoonfuls of whole flaxseed, and steep three hours. 
Strain, sweeten to taste, and add the juice of two 
lemons. If too thick, add a little more water. 
Excellent for fevers or colds. 

IRISH MOSS LEMONADE. 

Soak, pick over and wash one quarter of a cup 
of Irish moss, and add one pint of boiling water. 
Heat to the boiling point, but do not allow to boil. 
Keep at that temperature half an hour. Strain, 
and squeeze into it the juice of one lemon. Sweeten 
to taste. Use acid phosphate if preferred. 

WINE WHEY. 

Boil one cup of new milk, add one cup of wine. 
Let it stand on the back of the stove five minutes. 
Strain and sweeten. 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOB INVALIDS. 267 

HERB TEAS. 

Pour one cup of boiling water over a table- 
spoonful of the herb. Cover the bowl, set it over 
the teakettle and steep ten minutes. Sweeten a 
very little if desired. Mullein tea is good for 
inflammation of the lungs, chamomile tea for 
sleeplessness, calamus and catnip teas for colds 
and infant's colic. Tea made from the root of 
carpenter square is a specific for colic, and is also 
excellent for disordered liver, stomach andkidnevs. 
Cinnamon tea is good for hemorrhages, water- 
melon seed and pumpkin seed tea for strangury 
and summer complaint. 

BURDOCK ROOT TEA. 

Burdock is a biennial plant, sending, the first 
season, a straight root deep into the ground, 
penetrating hard clay soils, often two feet deep. 
These roots are the portions utilized for medicinal 
purposes. They should be gathered, for best re- 
sults, in the fall, winter or spring, and used fresh or 
dried. Slice the roots into thin pieces, and pour 
hot water over them ; place in a jar or pitcher, and 
keep covered till cool. Drink this tea when thirsty, 
instead of water. It is the best blood purifier 
known, being a specific for boils, carbuncles, jaun- 
dice and all ordinary skin diseases. During the 



268 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

spring and fall, when the system is undergoing 
change and so many people suffer from debilita- 
tion, it should be used as a common drink. 

MEATS. 

The majority of mankind believe animal food 
to be a necessary constituent of the diet. We 
therefore give a few formulas for the best prepara- 
tion of meats for the sick. Every particle of fat, 
skin and membrane must be removed. These 
might be available for the soup kettle of the 
healthy, but on no account should they be used for 
the sick. Broiling is the quickest and sometimes 
the most palatable method of preparing both es- 
sence and tea in an emergencv. 

BROILED BEEF ESSENCE. 

Broil half a pound of round steak one or two 
minutes, or until the juice will flow. Cut into small 
pieces and squeeze the juice into a bowl placed over 
warm water. Salt very slightly without re-heating, 
and if desired, pour over hot dry toast. 

BROILED BEEF TEA. 

Add a half cup of boiling water to the meat 
after broiling as above. 

STEWED BEEF ESSENCE. 

Cut half a pound of round steak into small 
pieces, season with a little salt, press or pound 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS, 269 

with a pestle, and let stand in a covered bowl half 
an hour. Pour off the juice, heat, but do not boil. 
Serve at once. 

BROILED BEEF PULP! 

Scrape raw beef to a pulp, make into small 
cakes and broil as steak. Season with salt and a 
little cayenne pepper. Serve hot. 

MUTTON BROTH. 

To make it quickly for an invalid, chop one 
pound of lean, juicy mutton very fine. Pour over 
it one pint of cold water, let it stand until the 
water is red, then heat slowly, simmering ten 
minutes. Strain, season, and add two table-spoon- 
fuls of soft boiled rice, or thicken slightly with 
rice flour wet with cold water. Serve warm. 

BARLEY SOUP. 

Remove the fat and bones from one pound of 
neck of mutton. Cut the meat into slices and add 
to it one table-spoonful of well washed barley, and 
one pint of cold water. Heat slowly, and simmer 
two hours. Put the bones into a cup of cold water, 
boil gently half an hour and strain into the meat 
and barley. Season with salt. Skim off the fat 
and serve with whole wheat wafers. , 

CHICKEN JELLY OR BROTH. 

Clean a small chicken, disjoint and cut the meat 



270 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

into half inch pieces. Remove all fat, break or 
pound the bones. Dip the feet in boiling water and 
scald till the skin and nails peel off. The feet con- 
tain gelatine, and well cleaned may be used for 
jelly. Cover the meat, feet and bones with cold 
water, heat very slowly, and simmer till the meat 
is tender. Strain, and when cool, remove the fat. 
Season with salt, pepper, and lemon to taste, and 
add the white of one egg. Place over the fire, stir 
well, and boil five minutes. Skim, and strain 
through a fine napkin. If intended for jelly, pour 
into small cups and cool. Serve warm. 

BARLEY WATER. 

One table-spoonful pearl barley, three cubes 
loaf sugar, half a lemon, one quart boiling water. 
Wash the barley in cold water and place it, with 
the sugar and lemon, in the boiling water. Let it 
stand covered and warm for three hours, then 
strain. Currant jelly or orange juice may be used 
instead of lemon. Valuable for colds, strangury, 
diseases of bladder and urinary organs. 

CHICKEN PANADA. 

One cup of cold roasted or boiled chicken, 
pounded to a paste. Add half a cup of stale bread 
crumbs, and enough boiling chicken liquor to make 



CARE OF AND COOKING FOR INVALIDS. 271 

a thick gruel. Salt to taste. Boil one minute and 
serve hot. 

CHICKEN CUSTAKD. 

Scald together one cup of strong chicken stock 
and one cup of cream. Pour over the well beaten 
yolks of three eggs, and cook in a double boiler till 
slightly thickened. Salt to taste and serve cool in 
custard cups. 

HEALTH BREAD, MADE OF ENTIRE WHEAT FLOUR. 

To three pints of water add a small cake of 
yeast and a teaspoonful of salt. Mix with this a 
sufficient quantity of entire wheat flour to make a 
soft dough, and mould into baking pans. Let it 
rise about one half as much as is usual with other 
bread before baking. Allowing bread to rise but 
once increases its nutrition. As the flour is very 
coarse, making the dough soft allows for swelling. 
Bake in a hot oven in the same manner as other 
bread, with the exception that it should be baked 
a trifle longer. 

DIET FOR PREGNANCY. 

Baked potatoes, omelets, baked apples, corn 
meal mush, rice muffins, tomatoes, baked rice, 
codfish, corn cakes, cracked wheat, breakfast pota- 
toes, sago, oatmeal gruel, corn muffins, sago and 



272 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

cream, boiled rice, tapioca pudding with apples or 
oranges, corn bread, boiled eggs, green peas, straw- 
berry shortcake, asparagus, rhubarb, codfish balls, 
codfish and potatoes, macaroni, Boston brown 
bread, celery, farina, entire wheat bread, and all 
kinds of fruits. Plain soups are excellent, eaten 
before meals, and meats may be partaken of spar- 
ingly. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

memory; its natural law and benefit 
to health. 

Memory is not an organ of the brain represent- 
ing a specific quality, as reverence, spirituality, 
comparison, etc., but partakes of the qualities of 
all, the greater or less predominance of each organ 
controlling the degree of memory connected with it. 
Memory, therefore, is cultivated principally by the 
exercise of the organs controlling it. 

Memory is largely dependent upon physiolog- 
ical conditions; for instance, an organism endowed 
with superior physical health possesses, as a natu- 
ral consequence^ the best memory. Exceptions 
may occur, but only serve to prove the rule. 

From the most ancient times down to the 
present clay, many theories have been advanced 



MEMORY. 273 

relative to the best method of improving the 
memory. Efforts in this direction have been made 
by the greatest scholars and thinkers of the time. 
This indicates how important the faculty of memo- 
ry has ever been considered. 

Nearly all the memory systems have been 
based upon some phase of mnemonics. The general 
term "mnemonics" is defined as a system based on 
a natural association of ideas, for the assistance 
and cultivation of the memory. The variety of 
systems result from the diversity of views respect- 
ing the relation of ideas. Reviewing the history of 
mnemonics we learn that it was taught by Simon- 
ides in the year 469 B.C. The names of great and 
earnest students in this department of knowledge 
adorn the pages of each succeeding century. 

In 1807, A. D., Gregory Von Feinaigle, a 
German, lectured in Paris, London, Edinburgh, 
Dublin, and other cities, receiving distinguished 
attention. A few years later, Francis Fauvel 
Gourand, of France, lectured in New York before 
larger audiences than had ever before assembled in 
this country to listen to the discussion of scientific 
subjects. That the subject is scientific is generally 
admitted. 

It is not claimed, in this book, that memory is 



274 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

of such importance that its cultivation should be 
persisted in at the expense of perception, reason 
and judgment. There have been many instances 
of personalities possessing great memory, with a 
complete absence of reasoning power. When the 
law of memory is thoroughly understood, no 
further attention need be paid to its cultivation. 
The reason of this is obvious. Memory, being the 
result of other activities and conditions, can only 
be truly developed by the cultivation and educa- 
tion of these activities. To idealize memory to the 
extent of placing it so far above all other faculties 
as to practically ignore them, would be to live on 
the thoughts of others altogether, and not at all 
on our own. Nevertheless, the value of the other 
faculties is greatly diminished when the memory is 
weak. 

Knowledge is useless when it cannot be revived. 
A knowledge of history is of great value to the 
statesman, and it is through the exercise of 
memory that he retains that knowledge. We judge 
of the future by the past, and without recollection, 
we would be without a guide to future prognostica- 
tion. The natural statesman has this memory, un- 
consciously, arising from his love of his vocation. 
The natural musician has a ready musical memory, 



MEMORY. 275 

growing out of a strong and active musical nature. 
Such natures would have more difficulty in forget- 
ting the rules of music than in remembering them. 
The business man, whose soul is in his business, 
remembers its minutest detail spontaneously, 
especially such details as are of daily practice. He 
may possess a very poor memory of the names of 
streets and numbers of houses, for the reason that 
these do not come under his special observation. 
Members of professions possess good memories, 
each in his individual line of work, as do also 
general readers, who possess not only a knowledge 
of literary subjects, but of the topics of the day. 
The reason is that their interest in any single 
subject is not so great as to exclude interest in 
other subjects. 

Memory accompanies taste. The stronger the 
taste for anything the more retentive the memory 
connected with it. 

As the various systems of mnemonics, popular 
in the past, are still being largely taught, some 
understanding of them is important. Of still 
greater importance is the knowledge that their 
merits are slight, very slight in comparison with 
the claims made for them. While the different 
systems vary slightly in method, they are substan- 



276 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

tially alike, the key-note of each being association. 
The fault lies in the fact that their association of 
ideas is to a great extent artificial and cumber- 
some. Artificial, from want of natural association 
between what is desired to be remembered, and the 
assumed similar thing. It is cumbersome because 
of the great amount of extra thought process 
involved. If you would remember the name of 
Burnham, these systems would have you think of 
burning ham, and would say that the thought of 
burning ham causes you to remember Burnham. 
This is a double tax on the memory, and while 
these S3 r stems would seem to involve the natural 
law of association of ideas, the process is so 
artificial that it does positive harm to the memory , 
hj causing the mind to wander. The mind gropes 
about endeavoring to remember burning ham, a 
process thoroughly unnatural. While we some- 
times do aid memory by thinking of a similar 
thing, yet, as a system, it becomes un wieldly and 
fatiguing. 

Children possess good memories, but such 
would not be the case were they burdened by any 
of the old systems of mnemonics. Children have 
good general memories, because of their being 
nearly equally interested in all things, and con vers- 



ME MOBY. 211 

ing upon all subjects in their range of thought 
with equal freedom, and keeping in constant 
practice. The child's good general memory illus- 
trates the truth that memory, like every other 
faculty, is dependent on practice for its activity 
and readiness. To a certain extent memory may 
be a gift, but this is comparatively a rare thing. 
There are prodigies of memory, which we will not 
attempt to account for, any more than we would 
undertake to explain any of the other laws of 
nature. A certain Corsican boy could rehearse 
•fifty thousand words, as dictated, and repeat them 
in reverse order. Eular, mathematician, could 
repeat the whole of Yirgil's Euclid and remember 
the first and last line on every page. Lord Mac- 
aulay repeated Scott's "Lay of the Last Minstrel" 
from one reading. O'Connell, M. P., delivered from 
memory a speech lasting nearly four hours, full of 
figures and calculations. Sir William Jones under- 
stood several foreign languages thoroughly, and 
could read with comparative ease thirty others. 
Every one is familiar with Blind Tom's memory of 
music. The average mortal will not attempt to 
emulate these prodigies ; he can, however, improve 
such memory as he maj T possess. There is another 
sense in which mnemonics is a failure ; its science is 



278 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

confined principally to tricks and devices for 
remembering' figures, while these are of least 
importance in ordinary life. 

Within a few years, improved memory systems 
have been brought before the public, of which Prof. 
Loisette, of New York, and Prof. White, of New 
Haven, Conn., are prominent representatives. 
That these later systems are such great improve- 
ments, and that they are perfectly natural, as is 
claimed for them, is not borne out by all their 
students ; the complaint being that it first requires 
a prodigious memory to memorize their rules. 
These last systems, while making a considerable 
departure from mnemonics, still fail to satisfy the 
universal demand. 

There are natural laws of memory. They are 
very simple. One of the greatest of these laws is 
practice. How commonly is heard the expression, 
"I have forgotten because out of practice." There 
is only one art of never forgetting, and this 
consists in keeping in constant and regular use 
that which Ave desire to retain. We never forget 
our names, because constantly heard or used. On 
the same principle the merchant does not forget 
his business items. 

There is a general and a specific memory. The 



MEMORY. 279 

child has the former ; the adult often succeeds in 
possessing only the latter. He has a vocation, 
and becomes absorbed in it to the exclusion of 
most other things; thinks of it all day, at his 
meals, and through the night, and then complains 
that his general memory is no longer good. Let 
not this special memory be thoughtlessly con- 
demned. It is quite successful in money making; 
it often develops great ideas, which are of more 
value to the world than the average thought 
produced by the general memory. Such persons, 
while in reality possessing valuable and useful 
memories, complain that there are so many things 
they cannot remember. It is possible to be more 
entertaining, besides being better for the health, 
to possess the general memory, though not at all 
difficult to have both. One of the best practices 
for the continued possession of a good general 
memory is conversation. Cultivate the very desir- 
able art of conversation whenever suitable oppor- 
tunity offers. Memory consists in the ability to 
revive past mental impressions. If the habit is to 
revive them only on special subjects, special mem- 
ory will result. Conversation possesses the merit 
of making use of any and every subject, thereby 
reviving impressions on all subjects, and keeping 



280 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the general memory strong and active. The best 
place to cultivate conversation is in the home. 
There is found plenty of time and opportunity, 
especially at table. Many families eat their meals 
month after month in almost complete silence. 
What wasted opportunities! They are allowing 
the general memory to die out. They little realize 
how much they will miss it in old age, nor what a 
delight it would be to them could the general mem- 
ory be retained. They do not realize that a good 
general memory is an excellent means of preserv- 
ing a green old age; not only this, but it prevents 
decrepitude, and renews 3 T outh. 

As a rule, people do not remember the names of 
strangers on being introduced. This fault arises 
from not thinking of the name, but observing the 
person ; thus, when the attempt is made to revive 
the name it results in failure, because there is no 
impression of the name to revive. Impressions of 
names are made through the attention, through 
the understanding. Napoleon the Third formed the 
habit of writing the name of a stranger and throw- 
ing it away. This made a double impression, 
through both sound and sight. If a good memory 
of names would be enjoyed, attention must be paid 
to understanding them clearly. Attention culti- 



MEMORY. 281 

vates memory, and memory in turn cultivates the 
power of continuous attention. Upon hearing a 
new name it is well to think of its exact sound, or 
the sound of each syllable, and of its exact and cor- 
rect spelling. A little practice of this kind will soon 
establish the habit of remembering names, and by 
so lightning-like a process that the method is 
scarcely felt. The rapidity with which impressions 
can be recalled depends largely on their vividness ; 
the more striking and vivid the impression the 
more indelible it is. Practice also gives this result. 
Memory of faces, with most persons, is a gift. 
Where the gift is wanting, this particular memory 
can be improved through attention. Observe not 
only the face in general, but each feature separate- 
ly. This practice will soon develop into an uncon- 
scious habit. Some minds are constituted with 
metaphysical tastes predominating ; such persons 
have poor memories of faces, because they observe 
the internal man more than the external. Such 
persons need especially to cultivate attention to the 
external. Our faculties are given us for training, 
in a sense for amusement, and this understanding 
of them makes their cultivation a constant delight. 
After love, the highest pleasure is study — thereby 
attaining the highest possible development. 



282 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Another great aid to memory is cheerfulness. 
There is buoyancy and activity in cheerfulness ; it 
is spirit; it is health; it is life; it facilitates the 
conditions of memory. It favors brilliancy, is an 
assistant of the wits, removes mental sloth, and 
causes a birth rather than a dearth of ideas. Every- 
one has experienced that fatigue, weariness, pain, 
worry, confusion, depletion, trouble, haste, anxiety 
or sickness will cause loss of memory. This ex- 
plains the principle by which memory is so largely 
physiological. The mind is dependent on the body 
for its expression, and the two are so largely inter- 
blended as to make them practically one. Great 
ideas are more readilv retained than small ones, 
since they make more vivid impressions. 

Instantaneous remembrance is connected with 
taste. Every person is born with one or more 
leading tastes, and subject matter relating to these 
inherited tastes will be instantaneously remem- 
bered, without continuous practice. A taste for 
some vocation, subject, or thing, is a wonderful 
power. Though circumstances and environments 
ignore or leave in a dormant state one's dominant 
tastes, they nevertheless remain a power, and every 
memory connected with them will ever be instan- 
taneous. "There is no accounting for taste" is a 



ME MOBY. 283 

universal saying, based on the great power of its 
nature. Endeavor to destroy natural inclination 
as we may, it still remains. Franklin said he had 
tried all his life to cure himself of his pride, and 
when it was cured he was proud to think he had 
succeeded. So he said that though it is possible to 
guide characteristics, they cannot be destroyed. 

Many memory teachers, when advertising, lay 
great stress on their ability to teach the art of 
perfect memory. Such advertising catches the pub- 
lic and brings patronage. The rules they teach are 
mere tricks, and while in rare instances one may be 
benefited by them, in general, the only fruits reaped 
are confusion of ideas, and mind-wandering. There 
are two natural laws of never forgetting, and only 
two. These are taste and practice. That for which 
we have a taste requires no spur, and that which 
we keep in constant practice will never become 
clogged by disease. These laws are simple and 
masterly, and to spend time and money for other 
artificial and unnatural methods will bring only 
disappointment. 

These teachers also gain much patronage from 
advertising to teach the art of remembering a 
book at one reading. It finally ends in their quali- 
fying this statement with an explanation to the 



284 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED, 

effect that they did not mean you would remember 
every word ; that the general subject matter con- 
tained in the book constituted it, and by attending 
carefully to the understanding of the title, the 
preface, the character of the author, his object in 
putting forth the book, the divisions of the sub- 
jects, the relation of the various parts to each 
other, and generalization of the whole, you have 
what they meant by the entire book ; they will tell 
you that if you do this very slowly and thoroughly 
you will never forget its contents. It is needless to 
say that the student is someAvhat disappointed; 
still this point of their teaching is not without 
some redeeming value. There is a sense in which 
their definition of a book is correct and useful. 
Their deception in this respect does no harm at 
least, while many of the other deceptions are posi- 
tively injurious. 

There is a principle by which the art of for- 
getting can be fairly cultivated. It consists in 
diverting the thoughts to pleasant subjects, as 
often as the unpleasant ones recur. This practice 
continued grows into a habit, when the unpleasant 
thoughts return no more. If success should be 
only partial, it well repays the undertaking. Also 
the cultivation of cheerfulness, and a permanently 



MEMORY. 285 

buoyant mind and sunny disposition has a ten- 
dency to direct the Avhole nature away from all 
that is unpleasant. Much abstract thinking tends 
to destroy general thought, and to strengthen 
the special memory. The abstract thinker very 
frequently gets into ruts, and in these the memory 
is tenacious from persistent dwelling upon one sub- 
ject ; while this habit destroys the general memory 
by holding the mind aloof from general topics. 
Great thinkers should have great diversions. It 
is necessary to prevent their becoming one-sided 
characters. It is also necessary for the good of 
the general health. Originality has a tendency to 
abstraction, also a tendency to run off on tangents, 
and while it is a quality of mind of great value, it 
needs healthful checks and guards, that the whole 
mind may not suffer. 

Cultivation of the imagination strengthens 
and vivifies the general memory. Imagination is 
both destructive a nd constructive. It is destructive 
when it is made the foundation of a life work, laid 
by reading works of fiction to excess in childhood. 
It is constructive when it is the flowing out of the 
mind after a solid foundation of facts has first been 
laid. It is never destructive of memory, in either 
case developing this faculty powerfully ; when it is 



286 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED, 

destructive, it is of the judgment, not the memory. 

The insane have distorted, disconnected mem- 
ories. One evidence of perfect sanity, is a clear, 
well connected memory. The insane are not cheerful. 

Hobbyists are liable to develop excellent special 
memories, at the expense of the general memory. 

A habit of morbid brooding injures the mem- 
ory for everything except the thing brooded over. 

A good listener cultivates a valuable memory. 
Learn to listen as well as talk. 

Actors and actresses have a vocation so ex- 
clusively devoted to memorizing, that they too 
often neglect the development of reason and judg- 
ment. Diligent study of the grand side of their 
enchanting art will keep the judgment in good 
balance. 

Persons in old age, who have not kept the 
mind fresh, and the memory active, by absorbing- 
new knowledge daily, and by the practice of general 
conversation, are liable to become garrulous con- 
cerning the events of their early years, but of im- 
mediate matters, have memories sadly defective. 
Progressive minds never grow old. To be interest- 
ed in many subjects, and to maintain that interest 
through the years, means keeping the man inter- 
esting to society and his friends ; the possession of 



MEMORY. 287 

a memory favorable to health, and an ever growing 
talent for entertainment and instruction. It means 
that the common saying that the days of child- 
hood are the happiest, will no longer be true. It 
means that the buoyancy and cheerfulness of old 
age, with all the accumulation of knowledge and 
experience of a lifetime, are resources from which 
to extract degrees of happiness compared with 
which that of the child is merely animal sport. 

Good digestion is an excellent tonic for the 
memory. Haste impairs memory. Things learned 
hastily do not make the best impressions. Things 
remembered go through a process of assimilation, 
to which haste is unfavorable. "Blood will tell," 
applies to the memory. Deficient blood, or poor 
blood, injures memory. A clear, excellent circula- 
tion makes a delightfully active memory. A good 
memory is a good preventive against insanity. 
Pleasant conversation is much more favorable to 
the cultivation of memory than severe argument. 
Method favors memory. Integrity favors memory; 
when we tell the truth it is easily remembered; when 
we prevaricate it is a great tax to recollect just 
what we said. "Honesty is the best policy" in 
business; it also makes the best memory. Im- 
pressions made when the feelings are aroused are 



288 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

lasting. What is studied with pleasant feeling is 
best remembered . 

There is one good thing to be said concerning 
gossip, — it cultivates a vivid memory. Memory is 
favorable to bodily and mental rest. The prac- 
tice of the powers that strengthen the memory also 
increases happiness. It has been said that loss 
of memory causes nervousness and physical break- 
ing down. There is truth in this. It is also true 
that a physical deterioration injures memory. 

In review of the foregoing, let it be remembered 
that memory is a consequence and not a condition. 
It is a consequence of conditions. There are as 
many varieties of memory as there are varieties of 
faculties in the brain, no person having all mem- 
ories in equal degrees of strength, any more than 
he has all of the faculties in equal degrees of power. 
Commonly speaking, we do not separate the mem- 
ories, but speak of them as one memory. All ex- 
pression of nature proceeds from laws of growth; 
memory is of growth, like the body, and, like it, 
is governed by laws. These are the laws of health, 
exei cise of faculties, practice, and conversation for 
the cultivation of general memory; special .thought 
for special memory, with attention and under- 
standing. The habit of reviving at night the doings 



MEMORY. 289 

of the day, as a rule for the improvement of one 
very valuable kind of memory, is profitable. 

Every person has one or more forms of memory 
stronger than others. It is well to ask yourself, 
what forms in you are most deficient, and, these 
ascertained, learn the particular law underlying 
deficiencies, and cultivate that law. Remember 
that nature is governed bylaw, not tricks, and that 
the faculties and memories are parts of nature. 

Understanding brings contentment. When you 
understand the laws you will be contented. Con- 
tentment does not mean stagnation. Our greatest 
scholars and students are the most contented. 
Study and investigation are natural, and the 
greater the degree of contentment the more profit- 
able are the results of our labors. The cultivation 
of the laws of memory, under a clear understand- 
ing, will be, not a drudgery, but a delight. Discon- 
tent is a cause of activity, but it is not happiness. 
All nature is in action, and the activities of happi- 
ness bring the wisest and best conditions, produce 
the most gratifying results, and achieve the most 
lasting satisfaction. Without wisdom, content- 
ment is wanting. Nature is wise and the more 
natural we become the more delightful will be our 
wise and contented activity. 



290 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Be not dismayed if you do not find your mem- 
ory grow to prodigious proportions at a single 
bound. Recollect that perception and reason are 
indispensable faculties, and that it is possible to 
give so much attention to one faculty as to dimin- 
ish the others. There is a proverb that "what is 
soon learned is soon forgotten." This is not al- 
ways true, but there is some truth in it. The rea- 
son is, that the thing too quickly learned does not 
pass sufficiently through the understanding. A 
thing must be reasoned upon before it can be pro- 
foundly and soundly understood. A good memory 
is a delightful accompaniment of life, and is based 
on laws. A piano is most delightful when in tune, 
and the tune of the instrument is what the memory 
is to the individual. A rose-bush is most beautiful 
when flowering, and memory is one of the many 
charming flowerings of the multiple human accom- 
plishments. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

HEALIXG THEOUGH THE POWER OF MIND. 

In the past, mind has been dethroned and 
matter enthroned. A new light is reversing this 
order, placing mind on the throne. 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 291 

The body is the instrument through which 
thought is expressed. One of the products of life 
is thought; through thought comes education. 
Through education we have been led into some un- 
scientific beliefs, but from an age of beliefs we are 
now passing to an age of understanding. We are 
governed by what we know, thus a knowledge of 
the true healing elements will bring harmony and 
health. The five senses are only varied expressions 
of the one life. The greatest power in man is mind, 
for as "In nature there is nothing great but man, 
in man there is nothing great but mind." The 
fine and superior forces of nature playing through 
the human organization are coming to be better 
understood. These forces are developing and 
bringing out the latent mental powers with which 
we have heretofore not been familiar. 

One of the best proofs of a truth is that it will 
accord with every other truth. Thought moves 
the world, moves man, is the source of progress, 
and the architect of the universe. The mind may 
be made the agent through which a perfect system 
of mental healing is evolved. 

Of what does this new method of healing con- 
sist? It consists in educating the mind to employ 
its own and the bodily forces for the healing of all 



292 CUBE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

mental and physical maladies. It domesticates 
force. A new system of cure implies new premises 
from which to reason to correct conclusions. We 
should no longer subvert the great sanative power 
of the intelligent mind to false or improper uses. 
While experiments in material remedies change 
annually or oftener, we, realizing the supremacy of 
mind, are worthy of a correct and unchangeable 
method. In proportion as we take hold of the 
new, we drop the old. We know that sickness is 
unnatural, and as this thought intensifies, the 
action of the system changes, and health-producing 
potencies within the mind are aroused. As pain 
can be assuaged by diverting the attention from 
it, so, by directing the thought away from the ail- 
ment, and coming into a contemplation of the 
higher controlling powers, we live in accordance 
with them, thus causing changes which harmonize 
with the higher perceptions. We have been piling 
up material remedies, in the hope of damming back 
the stream of disease, until the discovery is made 
that Ave are only increasing the confusion. 

THE NEW SYSTEM 

teaches that disease is very largely the result of 
wrong thought, and that the remedy lies in the 
substitution of thought tending to produce health, 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 293 

and build up a right understanding. Knowing the 
cause of a trouble is the first step toward learning 
how to correct it. Acid fruit, a lemon, for instance, 
will contract the muscles of the mouth. This is 
accomplished through an action of the unconscious 
mind; a conscious thought of it will do the same. 
Thus thought can produce right or wrong action 
of the system. We have, then, a remedial agent that 
is educational. Belief regarding correct means 
leads to acquiring the desired result. 

Physicians of every school admit the great 
power of the mind over the body for good or ill. 
A belief in the possibility of perfection tends to 
produce perfection, and becomes a strong factor in 
establishing harmonious conditions. The power 
of thought is nowhere made more manifest than 
when, through its action, is observed the resulting 
physical or mental development. A belief that we 
are in health seeks to unite itself with the physical 
sensation of health, and continues the activity 
until a perfect outward corporeal expression is 
realized. The past systems of medicine have gone 
so far as to recognize the power of injurious ideas, 
but have stopped short of realizing or teaching 
the good to be derived from entertaining those 
which are beneficial. A clear idea produces a 



294 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

sensation, which can be for, as well as against, 
our well-being. From the medical plane we are 
evolving into a sphere of higher truths. 

If thought and existence are the same, as the 
history of the ages proclaims, it follows that a 
change of thought, or of the direction of thought, 
will induce a corresponding change in the life. To 
think a change in our condition, determines the 
forces towards that result. Thought is the highest 
power of which we have knowledge, controlling all 
below it. Knowing no higher law than itself, it is 
free, and can think that which it pleases. Thought 
can change sensation, which quickly manifests new 
expression. 

This is the first educational medical art since 
the dark ages. Medical systems, as a rule, deal 
more or less in mystery, Avhile the mental science, 
being an exact knowledge, is entirely educational 
and practical. The more fully a patient can 
become enlightened concerning the method em- 
ployed, the greater will be the success. The pulpit 
teaches that the higher things are interior, which 
teaching, extended, broadened, and deepened, will 
unite the two professions of medicine and theology. 
Happiness, health and heaven are within us ; by no 
possibility can they be external. To know this is 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 295 

to find them. Greece expressed her highest wisdom 
in the words, "Know thyself." 

Every one knows that one mind can affect 
another, and through it the body. This can be 
done by words, by the eye, or by actions ; and it 
can be done by a silent method, as when the men- 
tal physician gives a fifteen minutes' silent treat- 
ment, through a mutual understanding to this 
effect between the patient and himself. This 
influence can be made effective at a great distance 
as well as in close proximity. Col. E. G. Ingersoll 
said: "If I had made the universe I would have 
made health catching." He probably did not 
know that it is "catching." 

It is an aid to one who would practice this sys- 
tem to believe that universal mind pervades all 
nature, and that our minds can always be in com- 
munication with this universal mind ; also that it 
easily becomes a medium through which one indi- 
vidual mind affects another. It has been demon- 
strated that the silent action of one mind upon 
another, when a mutual understanding exists, can 
be especially effective. It is argued that the uni- 
versal mind is nearer to us, and we are nearer to 
it, than it is possible for one person to be to an- 
other; also that this all pervading mind, together 



296 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

with our own, contains all the healing elements, 
which are utilized by the process of healing. Our 
efficiency in mental healing is greatly enhanced by 
belief in a surrounding power that can be used 
according to our needs. 

In treating ourselves or others, the leading 
desire should be to dislodge all morbid thoughts. 
When the patient is in a passive state, desiring 
recovery, he is more susceptible to influence ; even 
if impressions are not consciously felt, they are 
received, and will manifest themselves. Little 
children are attracted by mind-cure to a wonderful 
degree, and it is astonishing how they will cure 
their little pains through the action of their minds. 
The simplicity of the method causes it to be readily 
taken up by children, and there is no study that is 
more important to them, helping, as it does, to 
lessen pain they cannot entirely prevent. Every 
one has seen a child fall, and get up apparently in 
the greatest agony, when, the mother having given 
it a few T passes of the hand, and a soothing word, 
behold the change ! The next moment he is off to 
his play again. This is the power of the mind, 
and a manifestation of the mind-cure principle. If 
the child was not greatly injured, he was, at least, 
badly frightened. It was a mental malady which 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 297 

the mother's words removed. To dispel fear is 
always a large part of the cure. As the child 
grows older it can, by instruction, remove its own 
fear, and still later on, check and control greater 
pain. How often a courageous word from some 
friend might change the polarities of being, and 
the patient be restored, whilst a continued pressure 
of surrounding fears, and an unceasing deluge 
of drugs, terminate all that is mortal. 

Mental science leads to an understanding of 
the mental forces, and how to apply them. It gives 
the philosophy of the wonderful cures by means of 
charms, amulets and incantations. There is no 
other system so spiritual. The science of evolution 
teaches that life is ever passing from the simple to 
the complex, but this science is an exception to the 
law. Its simplicity is one of the principal objec- 
tions which the learned profession urges against it. 
If ideas can cause disease, why can they not cure 
it? We must have faith in ideas. Wemustevolute 
selfhood. 

There is a self-healing of the body. There are 
organic cells, each possessed of vital power ; these 
myriad workers perform all the steps of healing, 
and it is in the power of the mind to hinder as well 
as aid these busy agencies. This organic process 



298 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

is the result of natural law operating through 
chemical action. The mental science favors this 
process, while fear, timidity and false beliefs arrest it. 

Solids are reduced to fluids and gases, and lost 
to view. There are theories that every atom is a 
center of force, and, possibty , of life and mind, thus 
making it appear more or less plausible that all 
may be mind. If this theory were demonstrable, 
the argument would be complete; it is demon- 
strable, that all matter is the result of atomic 
chemism. The higher elements control the lower ; 
the finer are stronger than the crude, hence mind 
preponderates. 

Man should grow younger in mind as he grows 
older in years. The principle is simply this: "As a 
man thinks, so is he." Thoughts and ideas are 
ever striving for external expression ; thus, by 
keeping the mind young, we have a perfect guaran- 
tee for continued vouthfulness of bodv. Thought 
will externalize itself, thus growing thought will 
ever keep us young. Reliance on drugs makes the 
mind, consequently the body, prematurely old. 
This new system will make us younger at seventy 
than at thirtv-seven, for then we will have more of 
genuine philosophy. There is such a thing as 
mind-kill as well as mind-cure, but we are less con- 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 299 

cerned with this department of the subject. With 
these general principles, we are prepared for their 
practical application. 

IN VISITING THE SICK, 

their confidence should first be gained, as perfect 
sympathy is necessary between physician and 
patient; also, the physician of tact will secure the 
co-operation of the entire family. These steps suc- 
cessful, form your judgment of the case by intuition 
and observation, and whatever you fail to learn in 
this way, obtain by interrogation. The object is 
not only to gain a general knowledge of the 
malady, but to learn precisely what is in the 
patient's mind concerning it. 

You then proceed to explain to the patient 
your manner of treatment, and the means em- 
ployed, thus securing a mutual understanding. 
This system of healing being of an educational na- 
ture, the patient should be instructed in the theory 
from which, as a basis, you begin your process of 
healing; tell him that you intend to take a position 
adverse to all his abnormal conditions, and that 
vou wish him to do the same. Sav further, that 
after you leave him, and during the time elapsing 
before your next visit, and thereafter indefinitely, 
until he is thoroughly restored, you will hold this 



300 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

view of the case, and you wish him to do likewise. 
As this is your first visit, it will naturally be of 
longer duration than the subsequent ones; the 
treatment should continue for about fifteen min- 
utes, and the patient, having come into a receptive 
state, or comparatively so, should not converse. 
If any thoughts occur to you, however, that will be 
of benefit to him, express them without unneces- 
sary delay. During several treatments of the same 
case, conversation will naturally become less and 
less, while the amount of silent treatment will 
increase. In regard to the respective positions 
occupied by yourself and patient, it is best to be 
governed by your feelings, placing yourself either 
at one side or the other, in front, at some distance, 
or even behind the patient if you feel prompted so 
to do. When the patient is so weak as to be 
unable to sit up, the choice of positions will neces- 
sarily be more limited, but the healing power can 
be developed until equally successful treatments 
will result, though you may be in a separate room 
from that of the patient. It can be carried further. 
The power may be developed until treatments can 
be given with great success from a distance, and, 
finally, hundreds of miles, in some cases with 
almost instantaneous results. 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 301 

The fifteen minutes having expired, and the 
physician about to leave, a parting word should be 
given to the effect that the patient and yourself 
will continue with unyielding tenacity to oppose 
his affliction, with the understanding that this 
course will send into the affected parts healthy 
thought, as well as new and invigorating healing 
elements. Some mental healers will not take a 
case unless the patient will agree to undergo seven 
treatments. In this, however, the physician should 
be governed by his judgment, in each individual 
case. In the subsequent treatments, and as 
rapidly as practicable, educate the patient to an 
understanding of the following principles: that 
fear is pernicious, that he does not hold it, but 
that it holds him, that an injurious belief is not 
held by him, but that he is its slave and victim, 
in this way preparing him to understand that 
the success of this system consists in possessing 
the right understanding. As an illustration, take 
the case of an abnormal craving for some injurious 
article of food. The party will feel that he must 
have it, that existence is quite intolerable and un- 
endurable without it. Now as to the remedy: Let 
all the mental energies and life forces — which will 
naturally follow — be turned to a desire for some- 



302 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

thing more beautiful, pleasing, and health giving; 
in a few moments he Avill find, to his surprise, 
the first wild craving gone. The false, artificial 
appetites for alcohol, tobacco, opium, etc., can 
be destroyed through a correct application of 
mental science. 

Science is ever looking at things which are in a 
sense invisible. Science is of the mind, deals with 
matter, and controls it. Life is an element, like 
mind, which we do not try to define. We deal with 
the powers of life and mind in the sense of obtain- 
ing effects. Who can explain wherein resides the 
power of steam and electricity? All power is unseen . 

Memory is an excellent thing, but there are 
times, especially during disease, when the ability 
to forget is equally laudable; thus we must en- 
deavor to do away with the patient's tendency to 
brood over his adverse experiences. Thoughts of 
this nature must be corrected. This might seem 
to require almost superhuman skill, but when 
understood it is not difficult. All have witnessed 
instances of what an invalid will sometimes do 
when, for the time, he forgets his disease. It is not 
a question of how to obtain the power of mental 
healing, it being a universal possession, but how to 
use it. Whatever the pain, pleasure, or impression 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 303 

to which we are susceptible, it is of the mind and 
spirit, permeating the entire physical organism. 
Modern, perfected phrenology no longer places 
mind in the brain only. Mind is ever externalizing 
through matter, and herein lies the power to build 
up health in the place of disease. It is a process 
which encourages the admission of more light, 
which is wisdom. 

This system rejects the amphitheater, the lab- 
oratory, and the pharmacy, substituting potencies 
which are free as air and water. When the mental 
equilibrium is disturbed, there will be a correspond- 
ing disturbance in the physical being. A cure, 
then, means simply the restoration of the mental 
balance. This science leads gradually to the check- 
ing of every primary wrong or downward ten- 
dency ; it will lead us finally to live above disease. 
Cultivate the flowers until there is no room for 
weeds. Keep the thoughts pleasantly occupied by 
reading, work or recreation. This course of pro- 
cedure increases strength and power, and is in 
harmony with dietetic and hygienic methods. 

If the patient is a young child, the case must 
be discussed both silently and audibly, chiefly with 
the parents or attendants. Only good-natured 
nurses should be allowed in a sick-room. When in 



304 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

pain we become positive, thus, if we allow ourselves 
to relax the entire system, alleviation will result; 
this is a mental principle. A calm mind soothes, 
heals and tends to allay fears. 

Fear should be conquered in the physician as well 
as in the patient. Mind is the natural stimulus. All 
systems of medicine will check incipient symptoms 
easier than those of the subsequent stages. Every 
one is familiar with the effect of counter stimula- 
tion to overcome pain, which is accomplished by 
giving the life forces a new direction. In like man- 
ner can the mind be disciplined to control the same 
forces. Medical colleges are at last teaching that 
no form of drug performs the cure: that nature 
is the real remedy, but that drugs assist nature. 
This is to the credit of the colleges, and shows their 
progressive tendency. We teach that, with prac- 
tice, this assistance can be much better rendered by 
the mind, with the advantage that this power once 
acquired, we are ever afterward our own physicians. 

Respecting so called hereditary diseases, firm 
and persistent belief that they are not hereditary, 
that it is impossible they should be so, will largely 
achieve a victory. Concerning deleterious climates, 
with a conviction that no atmosphere is injurious, 
we rise superior to all ill effects. This principle 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 305 

applies throughout the entire catalogue of sup- 
posed afflictions, and in this conclusion we reason 
from a basis incontrovertible and impregnable. 

Where disease has an origin in the unconscious 
mind, and in the involuntary action of the physical 
organism, science is still victor. In this practice 
new suggestions will be continually arising con- 
cerning the manner of treating, but, as no two 
individuals ever meet in precisely the same manner, 
no two cases will ever be handled precisely alike. 
Inspiration is unlimited, and ever brings success. 

The drug physician acknowledges disease, 
while the mind physician denies it. We find 
harmony by losing discord. As music or any of 
the arts or sciences must be taught, and as the 
ability to excel is a gradual development or 
growth, so it is with the science of healing through 
the power of the mind. All have noticed the de- 
pressing influence of sad news, and the elevating 
effect of news which is pleasing ; this is illustrative 
of the principle of mental science, demonstrating 
the power of the mind. We have simply to 
acquire a knowledge of this power and its use to 
have confidence in it. Many of the past failures of 
drug medication have resulted from the absence of 
this understanding. If you are already healthy, 



306 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

and wish to remain so, ever keep before you a men- 
tal protest against any other condition. In treat- 
ing patients, instances may occur where it will be 
necessary to produce a shock in order to break up 
morbidity. In such a case you can afterward 
explain your reason for so doing. We cannot lay 
too much stress on the pernicious effects of pa- 
tients doubting* our ability to cure them. Where 
confidence is substituted for fear, the true and 
natural activities will be resumed. 

In the department of diet, departures from old 
theories are made. Heretofore, the feeling's of the 
patient have been too little consulted. Visitors or 
nurses, through excessive kindness, should not 
tempt the patient by naming enticing dishes the3 r 
would like to bring him. The patient should not 
be asked if he has an appetite. If he has not, the 
rule is that he shall take no food until he has. 
When the appetite returns, let the patient name 
the articles desired. This desire is the voice of 
nature, wiser than any other intelligence. Pru- 
dence should be exercised with regard to quantity. 
The beginning of illness is generally accompanied 
by the loss of appetite, when the patient should 
not eat. If this rule is observed, the appetite will 
not return voraciously, but by degrees. The 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 807 

science of healing will remove artificiality and 
establish naturalness. Practitioners vary more or 
less in their modes, while all are governed by the 
same principles. 

Webster says: "The self-healing power of living- 
animals and vegetables is a property as wonderful 
as it is indicative of divine goodness." This science 
supplements and is an aid to self-healing, and an 
ever present counsel to guard and guide in all that 
pertains to the glory of health. It is an individual 
medical light, never absent/ but with us as an 
abiding friend. Contemplation increases its power. 
It has the merit of inciting us to the exercise of our 
deepest intelligence, and suggesting the widest, 
fullest and most perfect methods. 

Intelligence, knowledge, thought, wisdom, and 
understanding, must rule our lives, these being the 
agencies of mental science. This system not only 
promises increased health, but great economy, 
since no other system is so perfect in the science 
of right living, in which is contained, to a great 
extent, the secret of superior healing. This science 
is operated entirely through the understanding. 
Faith is good, but understanding is better. 
We are emerging from an age of beliefs to one 
of science. If we enable the sick to heal them- 



308 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

selves by means of potencies within themselves, we 
are doing- a greater work than that of feeding the 
hungry and clothing the naked, for, having health, 
food and raiment are procured with comparative 
ease. 

How does this divine machinery operate? 
Darwin, in his science of evolution, brings out but 
little more than the physical side of life. The inner 
or spiritual he leaves, consciously or unconscious- 
ly, to the work of other brains. With mental 
science, its work in the past has more nearly con- 
cerned the exercise of the external. We had not 
arrived at the full knowledge of our ability to 
say to the will, to thought, be still and know 
that the silent forces are the true physician. 
Thought opens the door, and the silent activity 
prevails. The healing power is within the soul, the 
finite and infinite soul. We are in the sphere of 
cure in all that we do. All the work of life should 
be healthful. Activity is natural. Nature every- 
where is in constant activity, for motion is 
essential to health. The mind, the soul, effects all 
changes by an activity and change of place of 
particles. The reflection that we are masters of 
ourselves fills the soul with courage ; we begin to 
straighten up, stretch our limbs, and breathe 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 309 

deeper; then fear and doubt depart, and a new 
and natural activity is re-established. 

It is popularly supposed that doctors secretly 
have a preventive remedy against contagious 
diseases, of which they avail themselves, but are 
careful to keep from their patients. This is a 
fallacy. Physicians are not so desirous of that 
kind of practice as to be guilty of such fraud. If 
they knew of a prophylactic they would only too 
gladly give it to the world. Their only protection 
is a positive mental condition, which produces an 
absence of fear. If our sixty-five millions of people 
could overcome fear, it would be a perfectly suc- 
cessful quarantine against cholera invasion. Phy- 
sicians have this positive mental condition forced 
upon them. Knowing that they must attend 
patients afflicted with contagious disease, they 
make a virtue of necessity ; what they do from 
necessity all can do from choice. 

Invisible life forces are the only healing powers, 
but precisely how they act we cannot tell. We do 
not know the cause of vascular circulation. It is 
known that the blood consists mainly of water, 
that its office is to carry atoms and particles of 
nutriment to the tissues for their building and 
growth, but the process is not known, and for 



81 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

practical purposes this knowledge is not essential. 
So, notwithstanding there is much concerning 
the mind forces of which we are ignorant, the 
effects are demonstrable. If a horse knew his 
power, he could not be driven. Thus with man; 
there are many of his greatest powers yet to be 
developed of which he has thus far remained in as 
great ignorance as is the equine animal of his 
strength. This has already been demonstrated by 
the Adepts of India, in their development of the oc- 
cult forces. The idea to be inculcated is that it is 
not only possible but natural to become the char- 
acter Ave play : hence, before the play, we should 
take a moment's time to decide what we would like 
to become. The might and power of mind and 
intelligence demand recognition. Imagination is 
one of our greatest powers, one of our most subtle 
forces. Our thought can be en rapport with the 
great thought of the universe, causing a universal 
and perfect connection. 

It has been stated that a perfect man has 
seven senses, while only five are yet acknowledged. 
That the sixth sense is an unperverted, unerring 
intuition and soul permeating vision, forming a 
substitute for much of the present cumbersome 
los:ic and reason: that the seventh sense will 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 311 

surround man with a divine halo, fill him with 
a divine power, and place him in connection Avith 
all the elements in the universe which can in any 
way contribute to his perfect happiness : that this 
will complete his nature, in correspondence with the 
seven notes in the musical scale, is a knowledge we 
have gained from much careful study and research. 

This system awakens humanity to a knowledge 
and use of the higher agencies, not without, but 
within, itself. It not only enriches life but lightens 
its burdens, and with it, the words, "Physician, 
heal thyself," are no longer idle. 

If we would become expert in the law, in music, 
or in mathematics, it is necessary that the mind 
should receive discipline in these directions. In like 
manner should drill be given in the science of 
mental healing. There is positively no other 
system that teaches the patient how to become his 
own physician. As man develops, his work im- 
proves, and from the most spiritual forms of 
religion down to the most material and practical 
science, a universal uplifting will result, from this 
discovery. It is as reasonable that; the finite mind 
should be mighty to control the body, as that the 
infinite mind is mio;htv to control the universe. 
The present and future, rolling on, silently but 



312 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

surely, bearing with it our vast humanity, will 
gladly welcome every ray of light which can lessen 
the darkness of life and increase the sunshine. 
The following thoughts by Prentice Mulford are 
exceedingly significant, as indicating the wonderful 
power of the mind, and the great variety of its 
powers, many of which have not hitherto been 
recognized. 

"In the chemistry of the future, thought will be 
recognized as substance as much as the acids, 
oxides, and other chemicals of today. 

"There is no chasm between what we call the 
material and the spiritual. Both are of substance 
or of element. They blend imperceptibly into each 
other. In reality, the material is only a visible 
form of the finer elements Ave term spiritual. 

"Our unseen and unspoken thought is ever 
flowing from us an element and force, as real as 
the stream of water we can see, or the current of 
electricity we cannot see. It combines with the 
thought of others, and out of such combinations 
are formed new qualities of thought, as in the 
combination of chemicals new substances are 
formulated. 

"If you send from you in thought the elements 
of worry, fret, hatred, or grief, you are putting in 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 313 

action forces injurious to your mind and body. 
The power to forget implies the power of driving 
away the unpleasant and hurtful thought or 
element, and bringing in its place the profitable 
element, to build up instead of tearing down. 

"The character of the thought we think or put 
out affects our business favorably or unfavorably. 
It influences others for or against us. It is an 
element felt pleasantly or unpleasantly by others, 
inspiring them with confidence or distrust. 

"The prevailing state of mind, or character of 
thought, shapes the body and the features. It 
makes us ugly or pleasing, attractive or repulsive 
to others. Our thought shapes our gestures, our 
mannerism, our walk. The least movement of 
muscle has a mood of mind, a thought behind it. 
A mind always determined has always a deter- 
mined walk. A mind always weak, vacillating, 
and uncertain, makes a shuffling, shambling and 
uncertain gait. The spirit of determination braces 
every muscle. It is the thought-element of deter- 
mination filling every muscle. 

"Look at the discontented, gloomy, melan- 
choly, and ill-tempered men or women, and you 
see in their faces proof of the action of this silent 
force of their uupleasant thought, cutting, carving, 



314 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

and shackling them to their present expression. 
Such people are never in good health, for that, 
force acts on them as poison, creating some form 
of disease. A persistent thought of determination 
for a purpose, especially if such purpose be of 
benefit to others as well as ourselves, will fill every 
nerve with strength. It is a wise selfishness that 
seeks to benefit others with ourselves, because in 
spirit and in actual element we are all united. We 
are forces which act and react on each other for 
good or ill, through what we ignorantly call 
empty space. There are unseen nerves extending 
from man to man, from being to being. Every 
form in life is in this sense connected. We are all 
members of one body. An evil thought or act is 
a pulsation of pain thrilling through myriads of 
organizations. The kindly thought or act has the 
same effect in an opposite sense. It is, then, a law 
of nature and science that we cannot do real good 
to another without doing good to ourselves. 

kt To grieve at any loss, be it of friends or 
property, weakens mind and body. It is no help 
to the friend grieved for. It is rather an injury: 
for our sad thought must reach the person, even if 
passed to another condition of existence, and 
become a source of pain to him. 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 315 

"An hour of grumbling, fret or fear, whether 
spoken or silent, uses up much element or force in 
making' us less endurable to others, and perhaps 
making for us enemies. Directly or indirectly it 
injures our business. Sour looks and words drive 
away good customers. Grumbling and hating is 
a use of actual element to belabor our minds. The 
force we so expend could be used to our pleasure 
and profit, even as the force we might use with a 
club to beat our own bodies can be employed to 
give us comfort and recreation. 

"To be able, then, to throw off or forget a 
thought or force which is injuring us, is a most 
important means for gaining strength of body and 
clearness of mind. Strength of body and clearness 
of mind bring success in all undertakings. 

"It brings also strength of spirit: and the 
forces of our spirits act on others whose bodies are 
thousands of miles distant, for our advantage or 
disadvantage. Because there is a force belonging 
to all of us, separate and apart from that of the 
body, it is always in action, always acting on 
others. It must be in action every moment, 
whether the body be asleep or awake. Ignorantly, 
unconsciously, and hence unwisely used, it plunges 
us into mires of misery and error. Intelligently 



316 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

and wisely used, it will bring us every conceivable 
good. 

"That force is our thought. Every thought of 
ours is of vital importance to health and real 
success. All so called success, as the world terms 
it, is not real. A fortune gained at the cost of 
health is not real success. 

"Every mind trains itself, generally uncon- 
sciously, to its peculiar character or quality of 
thought. Whatever that training is, it cannot be 
immediately changed. We may have trained our 
minds unconsciously to entertain evil or troubled 
thought. We may never have realized that brood- 
ing over disappointment, living in a grief, dreading 
a loss, fretting for fear that this or that may not 
succeed as we wish, was building up a destructive 
force which has bled away our strength, created 
disease, unfitted us for business, and caused us loss 
of monej^ and possibly loss of friends. 

"To learn to forget is as necessary and useful 
as to learn to remember. We think of many things 
every day which it would be more profitable no't to 
think of at all. To be able to forget is to be able 
to drive away the unseen force (thought) which is 
injuring us, and change it for a force or order of 
thought to be used for. our benefit. 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 317 

k ' Demand imperiously and persistently any 
quality of character in which you may be lacking, 
and you attract an increase of such quality. 
Demand more patience or decision or judgment or 
courage or hopefulness or exactness, and you will 
increase in such qualities. These qualities are real 
elements. They belong to the subtler, and as yet 
unrecognized chemistry of nature. 

"The man discouraged, hopeless and whining, 
has unconsciously demanded discouragement and 
hopelessness. So he gets it. This is his uncon- 
scious mental training to evil. Mind is magnetic 
because it attracts to itself whatever thought it 
fixes itself upon or whatever it opens itself to. 
Allow yourself to fear, and you will fear more and 
more. Cease to resist the tendency to fear, make 
no effort to forget fear, and you open the door and 
invite fear in : you then demand fear. Set your 
mind on the thought of courage, see yourself in 
mind or imagination as courageous, and you will 
become more courageous. You demand courage. 

"There is no limit in unseen nature to the 
supply of these spiritual qualities. In the words, 
Ask and ye shall receive, the Christ implied that 
any mind could, through demanding, draw to 
itself all that it needed of any quality. Demand 
wisely, and we draw to us the best. 



318 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

" Every second of wise demand brings an 
increase of power. Such increase is never lost to 
us. This is an effort for lasting gain that we can 
use at any time. What all of us want is more 
power to work results, and build up our fortunes, 
— power to make things about us more comfort- 
able to ourselves and our friends. We cannot feed 
others if we have no power to keep starvation 
from ourselves. Power to do this is a different 
thing from the power to hold in memory other 
people's opinions, or a collection of so called facts 
gathered from books which time often proves to 
be fictions. Every success in any grade of life has 
been accomplished through spiritual power, 
through unseen forces flowing from one mind, and 
working on other minds far and near, as actually 
as the force in your arm lifts a stone. 

"A man may be illiterate, yet send from his 
mind a force affecting and influencing many others, 
far and near, in a way to benefit his fortunes, while 
the scholarly man drudges with his brain, on a pit- 
tance. The illiterate man's is the greater spirit- 
ual power. Intellect is not a bag to hold facts. 
Intellect is power to hold results. Writing books 
is but a fragment of the work of the intellect. The 
greatest philosophers have planned first, and acted 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 319 

afterwards, as did Napoleon, Columbus, Fulton, 
Morse, Edison, and others, who have moved the 
world, besides telling the world how it should be 
moved. 

"Your plan, purpose, or design, whether re- 
lating to a business or an invention, is a real con- 
struction of unseen thought-element. Such thought- 
structure is also a magnet. It commences to 
draw aiding forces to it as soon as made. Persist 
in holding to your plan or purpose, and these 
forces come nearer and nearer, become stronger 
and stronger, and will bring more and more favor- 
able results. 

"Abandon your purpose, and you stop further 
approach of these forces, and destroy also such 
amount of unseen attracting power as you have 
built up. Success in any business depends on the 
application of this law. Persistent resolve on any 
purpose is a real attractive force of element, draw- 
ing constantly more and more aids for carrying 
out that resolve. 

"When your body is in the state called sleep, 
these forces (your thoughts) are still active. They 
are then working on other minds. If your last 
thought before sleep is that of worry, or anxiety, 
or hatred for any one, it will work for you only ill 



320 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

results. If it is hopeful, cheerful, confident, and at 
peace with all men, it is then the stronger force, 
and will work for you good results. If the sun 
goes down on your wrath, your wrathful thought 
will act on others while you sleep, and bring only 
injury in return. 

"Is it not a necessity, then, to cultivate the 
power of forgetting what we wish, so that our cur- 
rent of thought attracting ill, while our body rests, 
shall be changed to the thought-current attracting 
good? 

"Today thousands and thousands never think 
of controlling the character of their thought. 
They allow their minds to drift. They never say 
of a thought that is troubling them, 'I won't 
think of it.' Unconsciously, then, they demand 
what works them ill, and their bodies are made 
sick by the kind of thought which they allow their 
minds to fasten to. 

"When you realize the injury done you through 
any kind of troubled thought, you will then com- 
mence to acquire the power of throwing off such 
thought. When in mind you commence to resist 
any kind of such injurious thought, you are con- 
stantly gaining more and more power for resist- 
ance. Resist the devil, said the Christ, and he 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 321 

will flee from you. There are no devils save the 
illy used forces of the mind. But these are most. 
powerful to afflict and torture us. An ugly or 
melancholy mood of mind is a devil. It can make 
us sick, lose us friends, lose us money. Money 
means the enjoyment of necessities and comforts. 
Without these we cannot do or be our best. The 
sin involved in love of money is to love money 
better than the things needful, which money can 
bring. 

"To bring us the greatest success in any busi- 
ness, to make the greatest advance in any art, to 
further any cause, it is absolutely necessary that 
at certain intervals daily we forget all about that 
business, art, or cause. By so doing we rest our 
minds, and gather fresh force for renewed effort. 

"To be ever revolving the same plan, study, or 
speculation, or what we shall do or shall not do, is 
to waste such force on a brain treadmill. We are 
in thought saying to ourselves the same thing over 
and over again. We are building of this actual, 
unseen element, thought, the same construction 
over and over again. One is a useless duplicate of 
the other. 

"If we are always inclined to think or converse 
on one particular subject, if we will never forget it, 



322 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

if we will start it at all times and all places, if we 
will not, in thought and speech, fall into the prevail- 
ing tone of the conversation about us, if we do not 
try to get up an interest in what is being talked of 
by others, if we determine only to converse on what 
interests us, or not converse at all, we are in 
danger of becoming cranks, or hobbyists, or mono- 
maniacs. 

"The 'crank' alone is responsible for his doubt- 
ful reputation. He is one who, having forced one 
idea, and one only, on himself, has resolved, per- 
haps unconsciously, to force that idea on every 
one else. He will not at any time forget his pet 
theory or purpose, and adapt himself to the 
thought of others. For this reason he loses the 
power to forget, to throw from his mind the one 
absorbing thought. He drifts more and more into 
the contemplation of one idea; he surrounds him- 
self with its peculiar atmosphere or element, which 
is as real an element as any we see or feel. 

"Others in proximity to him feel this one- 
ideaed thought, and feel it disagreeably : because 
the thought of one person is felt by others near him 
through a sense as yet unnamed. In the exercise 
of this sense lies the secret of your favorable or un- 
favorable impressions of people at first sight. You 



HEALING THROUGH POWEB OF MIND. 323 

are, in thought, as it flows from you, constantly 
sending into the air an element which affects others 
for or against you, according to its quality, and 
the acuteness of their sense which feels thought. 
You are affected by the thought of othersin the 
same manner, be they far or near. Hence, we are 
ever speaking to others though our tongues be 
silent. We are generating for ourselves either ha- 
tred or love while alone in the apparent solitude of 
our chambers. 

"A crank often becomes a martyr, or believes 
himself to be one. There is no absolute necessity 
for martyrdom in any cause, save the necessity of 
ignorance. There never was any absolute necessi- 
ty, save for the same cause. Martyrdom implies 
lack of judgment and tact in the presentation of 
any principle new to the world. Analyze martyr- 
dom, and you will find in the martyr a determina- 
tion to force on people some idea in an offensive 
and antagonistic form. People of great ability, 
through dwelling on one idea, have at last been 
captured by it. The antagonism they drew from 
others, they drew because they held it first in their 
own minds. 'I come not with peace,' said the 
Christ, 'but with a sword.' The time has now 
come in the world's history for the sword to be 



324 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

sheathed. Many good people unconsciously use 
swords in advising what they deem better things. 

"There is the sword (in thought) of the scold- 
ing reformer, the sword of dislike to others because 
of their utter disregard of your ideas, and the 
sword of prejudice for others because they refuse 
to adopt your peculiar habits. Every discordant 
thought against others is a sword, calling out 
from others a sword in return. The thought you 
advance is received by you in the same kind. The 
coming empire of peace is to be built up by recon- 
ciling differences, making friends of enemies, telling 
people of the good that is in them instead of the 
evil, discouraging gossip and evil speaking by the 
introduction of subjects more pleasant and profit- 
able, and proving through one's life that there are 
laws, not generally recognized, which will give them 
health, happiness and fortune, without injustice or 
injury to others. Their advocate will meet the 
sick with the smile of true friendship, for the most 
diseased people are always the greatest sinners. 
The most repulsive man or woman, the creature 
full of deceit, treachery, and venom, needs your 
pity and help the most of all, for that man and 
woman, through generating evil thought, is gener- 
ating pain and disease for himself or herself. 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 325 

"You find yourself thinking unpleasantly of a 
person from whom you have received a slight 
or insult, an injury or injustice. Such thought 
remains with you hour after hour, perhaps day 
after day. You at last become tired of it, yet can- 
not throw it off. It annoys, frets, worries and 
sickens you. You cannot prevent yourself from 
going round and round on this same tiresome, 
troublesome track of thought. It wears on your 
spirit, and whatever wears on the spirit, wears on 
the body. 

"This is because you have drawn on yourself 
the other person's opposing and hostile thought. 
He is thinking of you as you are of him. He is 
sending you a wave of hostile thought. You are 
both giving and receiving blows of unseen elements. 
You may keep up this silent war of unseen force for 
weeks, and if so, both are injured. This contest of 
opposing wills and forces is going on all about us. 
The air is full of it. 

"To strive, then, to forget enemies, or to throw 
out to them only friendly thought, is as much an 
act of self-protection as it is to put up your hands 
to ward off a physical blow. The persistent 
thought of friendliness turns aside ill will, and 
renders it harmless. The injunction of Christ to do 



326 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

good to your enemies is founded on a natural law. 
It is that the thought or element of good will 
carries the greater power, and will always turn 
aside and prevent injury from the thought of 
ill will. 

"Demand forgetfulness when it is only possible 
for you to think of a person or thing with the pain 
that comes of grief, anger, or any disturbing cause. 
Demand is a state of mind which sets in motion 
forces to bring you the result desired. Demand is 
the scientific basis of prayer. Do not supplicate. 
Demand persistently your shar§ of force out of the 
elements about you, by which you can rule your 
mind to any desired mood. 

"There are no limits to the strength to be 
gained through the cultivation of our thought- 
power. It can keep from us all pain arising from 
grief, from loss of fortune, loss of friends, and 
disagreeable situations. Such power is the very 
element of that attitude of mind most favorable to 
the gain of fortune and friends. The stronger mind 
throws off the burdensome, wearying, fretting 
thought, forgets it, and interests itself in something 
else. The weaker mind dwells in the fretting, wor- 
rying thought, and is enslaved by it. When you 
fear a misfortune (which may never happen), your 



HEALING THROUGH POWER OF MIND. 327 

body becomes weak; your energy is paralyzed. 
But you can, through constantly demanding it, 
dig out of yourself a power which can throw off 
any fear or troublesome state of mind. Such 
power is the high road to success. Demand it, and 
it will increase more and more, until at last you 
will know no fear. A fearless man or woman can 
accomplish wonders. 

"That no individual may have gained such 
amount of this power, is no proof that it cannot 
be gained. New and truly wonderful things are 
ever happening in the world. Thirty years ago, 
he who should assert that a human voice could 
be heard between New York and Philadelphia 
would have been called a lunatic. Todav, the 
wonder of a telephone is an every-day affair. The 
power of our thought, still unrecognized, will make 
the telephone but a tame affair. Men and women, 
through cultivation and use of this power, are to 
do wonders which fiction has not, or dares not put 
before the world." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

TRUE BEAUTY. 

Every person, male or female, should make 
himself attractive, if not beautiful. This is an 
imperative duty, providing it can be accomplished 
without risk to life or health. I wish to impress 
on the minds of my readers the fact that it is 
possible to be just as healthy at fifty years of age 
as at fifteen, and consequently just as beautiful. 
Many men and women of today realize this truth, 
though they are few in comparison with the num- 
ber who will accept it in the future. 

Physicians understand that the majority of 
complexion beautifiers are destructive to the skin, 
in the long run ; that by the absorption of washes, 
lotions and powders, various nervous and other- 
disorders are developed, such as headache, sleep- 
lessness, loss of memory and appetite, granulation 
and thickening of the eyelids, opacity of the eyes, 
and many other disorders of the sight; also lan- 
guor, and great weakness in the arms and legs — 
often diagnosed as rheumatism. Incipient paraly- 
sis, or lead paralysis is the true condition of the 
patient. 



TRUE BEAUTY. 329 

The ill health of many ladies may be traced to 
the absorption of lead, bismuth, corrosive subli- 
mate, chalk, and flake white, which are the prin- 
cipal ingredients of the so called beautifiers, causing 
one or more of the above symptoms of disease, or 
disturbing the vital action ; this disturbance mani- 
fests itself through the nervous system, which is the 
telegraphic wire permeating every part of the hu- 
man system, as it is also the sentinel or watchman 
that carries every disturbed action of the system 
to the brain. To insure a permanently smooth 
and beautiful complexion, attention must be given 
to diet, bathing, rest and exercise, and the acquire- 
ment of a knowledge of proper dressing. 

A plain, nutritious diet is best. Drink no fluids 
with your meals, especially if in the least inclined 
to any weakness of the digestive apparatus. Soups 
and all fluids should be taken at the beginning of 
a meal, none being allowed to enter the stomach 
until the food is digested, or from two to three 
hours subsequently. 

Constipation is very destructive to a good com- 
plexion ; fecal matter is often absorbed into the 
system, causing headache and nausea, and stain- 
ing the skin a yellow, dingy color, frequently called 
liver spots. 



330 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

The best means for removing constipation is a 
diet of cereals, vegetables and fruits, with bread 
made from the entire wheat flour, or a cup of 
uncooked rolled oats eaten in a little milk at 
breakfast; the same quantity of rolled wheat or 
ground barley may be substituted if preferred. A 
fountain syringe should be kept in the bathroom 
and resorted to whenever the rectum has not been 
relieved of all its contents ; by this means all ac- 
cumulated matter can be removed. Use plenty of 
water, occasionally adding a little good soap if the 
constipation is chronic or very obstinate. Never 
resort to physic or laxatives. While in the closet di- 
rect the mind to aid the evacuation. Do not strain 
or hurry. With haste or strain, action is retarded, 
the effect being to contract instead of relax the 
bowel. Take plenty of time, and relax in mind, 
thinking only of the object in view, and keeping all 
other thoughts away until the bowels have been 
evacuated ; concentrating the mind upon the act 
is very effectual. Washing the rectum with good 
soap and water is also a great aid. When tired, 
rest, if only for five minutes. Sit or lie perfectly 
quiet, and think of nothing but rest. Take your 
mind off everything and everybody. Always 
remember that by harboring your own strength, 



TRUE BEAUTY. 331 

you are better able to help others. Do not worry 
about yourself or others, as that wastes your 
strength. Reserve all force for your own work, 
and cultivate thinking of one thing at a time. 

Take Turkish or Russian baths once or twice a 
week, if you can afford it. If not, take a hot bath 
in your room, and sponge off with cold water. Dry 
friction over the entire body every morning is 
invigorating in every case, reducing the excess of 
flesh in the corpulent, and increasing the growth of 
tissue in the lean ; friction being an excellent equal- 
izer of the circulation. Keeping up a vigorous cir- 
culation prevents wrinkles and early decay. Mas- 
sage of the face every night and morning stimulates 
the circulation of blood in the face, and is one of 
the best cosmetics, from which are received lasting 
results. Mix thoroughly one pint of glycerine and 
the juice of two lemons ; this preparation, applied 
to face and hands and rubbed well into the skin, 
removes all discolor ations. If the application be 
vigorously pursued for months, the flesh becomes 
clear, white and plump. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

VALUE OF REPOSE AS A RESTORATIVE. 

Physical repose possesses a restorative value 
not sufficiently recognized. Mental strain can be 
relieved through physical repose more readily than 
by any other means, which fact, could the insane 
be made to rightly comprehend it, would be the 
means of restoring almost any case, however 
difficult of cure. 

The proverbial American nervousness is not so 
much the result of mental tax as a lack of neces- 
sary bodily repose. Many people live under a con- 
stant tension, so much so that when lying in bed 
the muscles remain rigid ; they do not realize that 
it is impossible for the mind to relax until there 
has first been a physical relaxation. While it is 
true that the mind has great power over the body, 
it is also true that the body possesses great power 
over the mind; it is through an understanding 
of their mutual relations that the mind obtains its 
greatest relief, and achieves its highest expression 
of power. For example, by centering the thought 
on, and practicing physical relaxation, when in a 



REPOSE AS A RESTORATIVE. 333 

condition of excitement or passion, the unpleasant 
feelings immediately disappear. 

Mental stress may be greatly relieved by re- 
maining seated for a short time in an easy position, 
and thinking only of rest. This can be accom- 
plished simply by keeping the word "rest" con- 
stantly before the mind. Many persons are rest- 
less because they do not know how to rest. Con- 
trolling the physical will bring ease in the midst of 
confusion. Relaxation of bodily tension gives men- 
tal ease. Many people are constantly exercising 
their mental faculties. This practice causes weak- 
ness instead of strength. It destroys the ability to 
transfer the thought from one subject to another 
at will. It causes a loss of mental control, which 
is one phase of insanity. Strength and self control 
are acquired through rest. The ability to dismiss 
a thought when you desire to do so is great gain. 

The mind constantly strained in one direction 
cannot see an opportunity when offered. It is in a 
rut, bound there by the strong chains of habit. 
The strings of a violin should not be kept at their 
utmost tension unless necessity exists for their use 
in that condition. The mind must be brought into 
a negative condition to receive new ideas. 

The habit of repose brings capacity for 



334 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

presence of mind-; it brings the mind into a condi- 
tion to act promptly in emergencies. To increase 
and store up power is the ambition of all, but 
how to accomplish this is a knowledge belonging 
to comparatively few. This knowledge consists in 
obtaining sufficient mental and physical rest; a 
rest which gives time for recuperation. Human 
forces are constantly being increased, and if the 
exhaustive process predominates, the general 
power is diminished. Our educational systems re- 
quire too much mental and not sufficient physical 
exercise. We not only need hours, but minutes of 
repose. The minutes of repose are most readily 
obtained through easy bodily attitudes, and there 
is no situation where these cannot be enjoyed. The 
remedy for increase of power, for self-command, 
for presence of mind, for the ability and capacity 
to think new thoughts as required, is simple. The 
practice is not only easy, but delightful. The very 
thought of repose brings a feeling of repose. 
Believe you can get rest of mind through rest 01 
of body, and you can do so. Believe you can have 
easy mental attitudes through easy physical 
attitudes, and you are in possession of a valuable 
recipe for health and strength. 



CHAPTER XX. 

MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE OF THE FUTURE. 

At the present time, when a few minds have so 
far progressed as to dare exercise the right of in- 
dependent thought, one may venture to prophecy 
concerning the future without fear of fagot or 
thumb-screw, and also without fear of their 
modern progeny, the society boycott. 

The great age of a tenet is frequently offered as 
evidence of its truthfulness, and of the truthfulness 
of pet theories, when, in many cases, age is the 
only merit such theories possess. To progressive 
minds, the antiquity of a belief implies a question 
of its merit. 

Tracing humanity, in its various manifesta- 
tions, backward through the ages until a point is 
reached where investigation is baffled, we find the 
human mind more and more crude, more and more 
rudimentary; expressing itself in vagaries, dis- 
posed to worship, rather than to think ; disposed 
to fear, rather than to question. Again, we find 
that whenever a man or woman was conceived 
and born aright, and, upon reaching maturity, 
dared to give expression to normal thought, his 



336 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

flat-skulled contemporaries graciously built a very 
warm fire, and roasted him ; such being the reward 
of the possessor of an independent mind, with the 
courage to live according to its convictions. In- 
variably, the man who attempts to depart from 
established customs, brings upon himself the bitter 
and relentless persecution of his fellow-men. Not 
only the records of history, but, far greater in im- 
portance, the evidence offered by geological re- 
search, justify us in this conclusion. From time 
immemorial, mankind has been characterized 
by a tendency to persecute any attempt to lift 
it from the slough of ignorance to a knowledge 
of the laws of life which, properly applied, would 
render it the perfect expression of the Divine mind. 
The fossil skulls and skeletons found all over 
Europe and the East, and, in fact, in all parts of 
the world, furnish conclusive evidence that the 
further back our investigation extends, the more 
do we find animal tendencies predominating. The 
skulls are low-browed, with heavy jaws and large, 
base-brain region. 

These truths should have the effect of lessening 
our habit of holding to the customs, forms of 
thought and vagaries of the ancients as the crite- 
rion by which to regulate our lives. Modern ideas 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 337 

should engage our attention ; especially at a time 
when the crude is so far eliminated from our heads 
and hearts, through the natural law of organic 
growth, that woman dares to announce that she 
has a soul, and is allowed the right to offer her own 
evidence, in her own way, to support that position. 
It is better to take a precedent in an age when 
printing presses, railroads, telegraphs, telephones, 
and audophones, with a well-nigh perfect school 
system, abound in the land as evidences of prog- 
ress, than to retrogress toward that age when 
the human animal lived in a cave or mound, and 
spent the greater part of his time pounding flint 
that he might obtain fire from it, or shaping it for 
the purpose of knocking out his neighbor's brains, 
and then eating him. 

It may be said that such conditions have not 
existed in humanity for ages. True, but it is also 
a fact that man develops very slowly. This fact 
geology demonstrates, and ethnology confirms. 
Of comparatively recent date is the bitter persecu- 
tion instigated by the great divine, Cotton 
Mather, against women, both young and old, on 
the charge of witchcraft. These women were con- 
demned and executed by methods as barbarous as 
any used during the Inquisition. It is recorded 



338 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

that one hundred thousand persons thus perished. 
With these unsavory truths before us, evidences 
of grades of intelligence to be but little envied, let 
us seek deliverance from the enemy — the enemy 
whose name is ignorance ; ignorance of our origin 
and of the latent, undeveloped forces and abilities 
which we possess, but know not how to develop in- 
to use. Geology and science demonstrate that 
man is an expression of forces heretofore manifest 
on lower planes of being, retrogressing more and 
more as we approach the planet's earlier history. 
Man inherits, in a great degree, types, forms and 
mental traits. He inherits, also, in a retrogressive 
degree. This is observed in the fact that children 
often resemble, mentally or physically, a member of 
the family for generations laid in the tomb. In 
this manner, our mental and physical organiza- 
tions are obtained, disposing us to crime as we 
preserve, through this law of retro-inheritance, 
traits that were inherent at an early period of the 
planet's history, when man was nothing more than 
a savage beast. Retro-inheritance is the origin of 
the evil tendencies still observed, in a greater or 
less degree, in humanity. The criminals of a com- 
munity are born with organizations and brain 
structures predominant in evil ; various combina- 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 339 

tions in the brain, of the organs of the lower 
propensities, produce the various kinds and degrees 
of criminality. No one, as yet, is free from inher- 
ited tendency to vice, a tendency which the criminal 
code of our land serves to foster and encourage; 
the law of capital punishment in particular has this 
effect. War, or preparations for war, so inimical 
to the true Avelfare of the country, preserves and 
encourages brutality. The mind of a person con- 
stantly turned in any one direction for the accom- 
plishment of a certain end will aggregate great 
power toward its accomplishment. So with united 
mental action or national effort; continual 
preparation for war must finally succeed in bring- 
ing about those conditions which favor a display 
of that barbarity brought down with us from the 
ages when man lived entirely on the plane of 
animal propensity. 

If all the defects found in men and women of 
today are the natural outcome of influences com- 
ing down to us by inheritance from primeval 
man, we ask the reader if he cannot see a more 
effective way out of the rudimental jungles of 
ignorance than by following the instincts, not of 
Nature in her original purity and truth, but as she 
is perverted by ages of ignorance and wilful mis- 



340 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

understanding? If men and women prefer to 
remain the slaves of their pampered appetites, 
with their animal passions as masters, then we 
must expect the conditions of the future will be in 
line with those of the past. But if, leaving the 
plane of sensual life, they will love and marry ac- 
cording to a higher law, then we shall see the 
dawn of the beginning of a new dispensation. 
Great men and women will then be born, who will 
be the glory of their race and the apex of true 
civilization. 

We will now endeavor to give a brief explana- 
tion of man's origin. 

The nebulous theory of world formation is 
now admitted by scientists to be the true one. 
Briefly, that theory is this : That cosmic matter, 
or world-substance, exists everywhere in space, 
operating on such a high plane of atomic motion 
as to render it ethereal, imponderable and on a 
plane above the evidence of our physical senses. 
When old planets and systems of planets, in their 
magnetic and electric conditions, etc., favor the 
condensation of this cosmic matter, opaque, nebu- 
lous masses appear, thus forming the nucleus of a 
new planet. Astronomers of the present day 
believe these mist worlds, now observable in a 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 341 

state of growth, to have formed the nuclei of all 
the planets in the solar system; our own earth 
among the number. The accumulated evidence in 
support of this hypothesis need not at present be 
given. 

From the arrest of atomic action heat is 
evolved, hence the conclusion that our planet was 
once a seething caldron of fire — early human 
substance. The atomic motion of highly attenu- 
ated matter, being arrested and transferred to this 
nucleus of a new world, gave us planetary motion, 
and, after millions of ages of cooling and prepara- 
tion, life dawned in the form of plasmic, one-cell 
protozones. How? The energies first existing as 
cosmic, imponderable ether, having undergone 
certain chemical changes through planetary pro- 
cesses, at length developed into the most primitive 
forms of life, whence we have its many and varied 
expressions, up to, and including, man. That this 
is the true history of our planet and her innumer- 
able family of children — life of her life — none can 
doubt who will give the subject a little study. 
Man, then, is a product of the planet and the 
myriad forces of its atmosphere. He is the forces 
of his mother earth, refined, individualized and 
perfected through organic processes. 



342 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

In support of this position and as evidence of 
its truth, we give the following facts. It is well 
known that a dense population springs up where- 
ever is found a rich, fertile soil. This population is 
maintained until, by constant use, the earth 
becomes depleted. Critically examined, this fact 
indicates that primitive planetary forces, through 
various forms of progression, have developed to 
the plane of vegetable life, approximating the 
plane of man sufficiently for absorption by him; 
thus becoming substance of his substance, life of 
his life, and finally attaining the perfect flower of 
all growth — the life of the spirit. 

Why does population decrease as the fertility 
of the soil diminishes? Because the substance used 
for the deA^elopment of human souls is exhausted, 
having attained an ethereal plane of vibration in 
organized spirit bodies. Much of the old eastern 
country, now uninhabited waste, was once teeming 
with the life which now occupies the spirit planes 
of individualized being. Reading the agricultural 
papers of the day, we find them teeming with 
warnings to the farmers concerning the rapid 
devitalization of the soil. The rapid waste of 
fertility can in a measure be laid to the charge of 
careless husbandry, but with the best care, fertility 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 343 

of the soil will gradually lessen. Special deposits 
of fertilizing material may be utilized with good 
results, but this only tends to establish our 
premise more firmly. Thousands of square miles 
in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are now 
waste because the conditions of the soil are no 
longer such as to render the production of spirit 
life, through development, possible. 

In addition to the above irrefutable facts, 
proving that human life is simply the result of 
planetary forces sublimated and individualized, it 
is observed that in regions Avhere people have dwelt 
for many years on the same soils, certain traits or 
characteristics are more or less peculiarly marked, 
while within a radius of but ten miles, with a differ- 
ent soil or subsoil, characteristics are entirely 
different. For instance, where the basial soil con- 
sists of disintegrated flint, the inhabitants are, as 
a rule, slender in form, active in habits, frank, 
sociable and spiritually inclined. On the contrary, 
when the basial soil is of limestone origin, the peo- 
ple indigenous to it are inclined to be corpulent, 
phlegmatic, less sociable, and more subject to the 
passions. So we ever find qualities in humanity 
corresponding to qualities in the soil to which it is 
indigenous. 



344 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

Newton sat under an apple-tree, and, noticing 
an apple fall to the ground, set to work with an 
energy only equaled by the tenacity of the forces 
he investigated, to pursue gravitation and its 
agency in planetary behavior. It remains to be 
pointed out by what agency this gravitation, 
transferred from the planet to man, is expressed in 
his loves and hates. The relations of the sexes, 
their loves and hates, is identically the same force 
that controlled cosmic matter in space, which 
formulated, and now governs and individualizes, 
life and man from it. Does law obtain in Nature, 
— scientist, philosopher, thinker? 

We have been groping about, lost in the wild 
jungles of ignorance for ages past, seeking to climb 
a perpendicular wall that we may escape, only to 
end as we began, in difficulty, and making but slow 
progress toward emancipation. Now, in these 
modern times, impatience for the truth reaching a 
high tension, many of us seek to escape material- 
ism upon the wings of vagaries and mysticism 
that only differ from the past in being the same 
errors etherealized. Facts alone, not precedent or 
mysticism, furnish the only light that will lead 
safely to the path of knowledge and redemption. 

All atoms and molecules, whether in a crystal, 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 345 

solid, or radiant state, seek their places and are 
held there by the law of gravity, or attraction and 
repulsion. Man being an aggregation and subli- 
mation of planetary forces — magnetism, electricity, 
light, heat, gravity, oxygen, motion and force— it 
follows that the attraction and repulsion of these 
forces, in their infinite combinations, determine 
his nature and actions. We call it love or hate 
on the human plane. In life below us, we call it 
instinct. With this preparation or premise, and 
with due appreciation of its importance, we now 
with reverence approach the subject of the coming 
redemption of the race, namely; Marriage and 
Parentage of the Future. 

In Nature's laboratory we find certain element- 
al forces operating on certain planes for a period 
long or short in duration, as the case may be, then 
changing types and developing new forms. One of 
the marked changes of the future will be emancipa- 
tion from a state of subjection to the passions, to 
the liberty of the reign of reason. Keason will 
predominate in both men and women, and by its 
light shall they govern love. By its light also, 
shall they see each other clearly, and this vision, 
born of wisdom and truth, shall guide them to a 
perfect union, a union, not for the gratification of 



346 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

the lusts of the flesh, but for their mutual develop- 
ment into the harmony and beauty of a perfect 
life. A life beautiful in its completeness, made so by 
an understanding of the laws governing it. Then 
only will humanity rise above the animal plane of 
being. 

Our bodies will then command respect because 
of the realization that they are the laboratories 
wherein the eternal spirit-body is developing and 
evolving from planetary substances, foods, etc., 
and that the character and quality of the spirit is 
greatly determined by the food, drink and air 
utilized in the process. The fertilizer placed around 
the rose-bush is converted into attar of roses. The 
character of the soil and fertilizer determines, not 
only the quality of the attar, but of the bush as 
well. So with the spirit or soul; the body that 
elaborates it from the sap-blood will be under the 
direction of this new force, with reason as its guid- 
ing star. Woman will then know how to be beau- 
tiful ; she will possess true beauty and strength of 
character, and realize that corsets, rich food and 
irregular hours break down the health, as well as 
beget bad temper and ungoverned passions. 

When this sun of reason has risen, man will 
not waste his life in the pursuit of wealth regard- 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 347 

less of the method used to obtain it. Nor will he 
then defile his body with the poisons of alcohol 
and tobacco. Reason, not appetite, will be his 
guide. 

He will seek one lovely and lovable woman, 
guided by reason and love. This woman also, has 
found the perfect way to a perfect life, the under- 
standing of the true laws that govern being. She 
is now a pure human flower; a woman who is 
master of herself. This man and woman converse 
upon life's duties. They speak of the union of two 
souls for happiness, joy, duty: happiness and joy 
because they do their duty, — because they know 
their place in Nature and rejoice in it. They know 
they evolved from the planet, or matter so called, 
through organic processes. They know they are, 
through their bodies, elaborating, individualizing 
and etherealizing matter into a spirit body that 
will arise from the old body at death, which is the 
real, the new birth. The new savior, reason, 
teaches our pair these truths. They say to each 
other, let us have a marriage of souls, not merely 
a formal ceremony accompanied by pomp and rich 
viands. Let one of the purposes of this marriage 
be to bring into existence a child who shall be an 
ideal being. Let us not be led by blind, unre- 



348 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

strained passion, as has been the case with the 
races of men in the past, thus filling the world with 
animals, and the asylums with lunatics. 

Let us subject our minds and bodies alike to 
purification for at least a twelvemonth before the 
act that starts into being the one who is to be an 
example to the world ; an example in proof of the 
fact that we are born, not made, into greatness. 
Born great, we shall be great. Born scrubs, we 
shall be scrubs. Let the man and woman, who are 
to pioneer anew race of rational beings, live, during 
the year of preparation, very temperately, on the 
simplest foods, and as little cooked as possible, 
since Nature knows best how to ripen her viands for 
our best welfare. Live much in the open air amid 
pleasant scenery. Let the husband, true as steel, 
and the wife, as true, often inspire to each other 
by conversation concerning the ideal beauty, 
physical and mental, they are preparing them- 
selves to bring into being. At the moment of em- 
brace, after a year spent in preparation, let the 
accumulated expectancy of the whole year crown 
the act as a love offering, to be the last act of the 
kind till the new being is born. This is of the most 
vital importance. Copulation after conception is 
more unnatural, more brutalizing both to parents 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE, 349 

and child, than all other habits and causes com- 
bined. It is always unwelcome to the woman and 
always thrust upon her by the man. 

Now commences a nine-month's period of 
growth and construction, that determines the char- 
acter of the future human being for all time to 
come. With the year's mental and physical pre- 
natal preparation, both indispensable to best 
results, you now have ready for development the 
purest, highest and best germ possible. The to-be 
mother should continue her simple diet, bathe free- 
ly, and take much out-door exercise, thinking 
cheerful and noble thoughts, ever dwelling upon 
pleasant themes; such thoughts, with correct food, 
determine the quality of the brain structure of 
the child. Remember, the new being is, in every 
part, evolved from the blood. The blood is a 
product of the food, and the food is composed of 
planetary and sun forces. 

In view of the importance of this fact, keep 
your blood rich, cool, active and pure. For this 
purpose, at this important period, the wife and 
coming mother should live principally upon fruits 
and succulent vegetables, with a small amount of 
the grains, rolled oats, wheat, whole-wheat bread, 
etc., with little, if any, of animal food. The good 



350 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

old cook, Nature, knows best how to mix our 
foods. We have strayed so far away from her 
influence and become so artificial, that were we sud- 
denly to find ourselves in a simple and natural 
state, we would probably imagine it to be abnormal. 
The father's duty by no means ceases at con- 
ception. He should enter whole-souled into every 
plan and movement of the wife. Speak to her of 
the coming pride of their life. Have a happy smile 
and kiss for her on all suitable occasions. Cause 
her to be a mirror, reflecting your love, tenderness, 
and care. If these rules are faithfully and heartily 
carried out through the entire gestative period, 
behold, at the end of an easy birth, a philosopher. 
The head is fine; high in the moral region, wide 
and large in the intellectual, and small in the 
region of animal propensity. What an eye she 
has! A girl will probably be desired, because in 
the time of the reign of reason, woman will be 
acknowledged as naturally a little finer grained 
than man, hence, her intuitions are superior. It 
should be a girl, also, because we need good, grand 
and noble women, and this child, so born, must 
grow to one, in time becoming a noble mother, 
repeating herself and her mother's experience in 
her posterity. Yes, a noble body, a noble soul to 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 351 

grow to noble womanhood, and show mankind 
what an understanding of the laws that govern life 
can do to save the race. 

What happy parents this couple will be! A 
happiness born of self-denial and duty, performed 
will be theirs, of passion subdued, and a new plane 
reached through victory over self. 

The neighbors will whisper, "How keen and 
beautiful that little curlv headed Mvrtle is; how 
tender, kind and considerate to others, to her 
playmates, and to all living things. Have you 
heard how strangely her parents acted for some 
time previous to her birth? It's a real romance. 
I've heard that they believe that beings, body and 
spirit, are individualized from the planet through 
organic processes. I've heard that the parents 
believe that the true Savior of the race is to consist 
in a true knowledge of how to be born aright. 
And really, doesn't it look as if it were true? A 
perfect angel is that little Myrtle. How wise 
beyond her years ! Theosophists believe she is the 
forty-ninth re-incarnation, but, if true, who are her 
real parents?" But the parents know better than 
that. They know why Myrtle is so intelligent and 
so noble. "Let us call on them some day, and 
learn something of the new plan, the new savior," 
say these neighbors. 



352 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

They go over and get a sermon ; text, — man is 
evolved from the planet through organic processes, 
hence must be saved through organic processes. 
The parents explain how the blood conveys sub- 
stance to build every part of the body, — bone, 
muscle, nerve, brain. They explain how the 
blood whirls into brain-substance, and thence into 
thought-substance, as indicated by the rapid 
waste of brain tissue, and great amount of blood 
required in mental effort. They explain how Myrtle 
came, and how passion, or animal impulse, was 
ignored by following only the higher aspirations, 
with reason as guide. 

Myrtle grew up to be the possessor of great 
beauty of form ; she had no wish to lace, or use 
poisonous cosmetics to enhance her beauty , because 
her intuitions were pure, healthy, and always 
correct. Her mind and disposition were charming. 
Everybody was fascinated with her. She sensed at 
a glance the thoughts of those with whom she 
came in contact, hence, easily kept her right place 
in society, knowing instinctively whom to shun and 
whom to trust. She obtained her education in two 
ways ; first, by a keen observation of facts and of 
the operations of Nature, both in the mind and 
matter domains, and second, by an evolving or un- 



f 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE, 353 

folding of herself from within. She sensed the 
great clouds of electricity and magnetism that are 
constantly being set free deep down in the earth 
and rising to the surface, there to intermingle with 
the air and be inhaled at every breath. She recog- 
nized how these forces, entering the blood through 
marvelous organic processes, are raised to the 
plane of spirit and thought-substance. She never 
could have sensed these subtle truths had she been 
born under the old plan of total depravity. 

Myrtle's great wisdom and magical grace of 
body and mind are noised abroad, and she is 
soon in great demand. Those who have mental 
distempers, as well as physical, seek her presence 
to be cured. A glance of her eye, with the melody 
of her voice, and a breath of her magic magnetism, 
at once sends to oblivion all inharmony, and the 
patient's cry is, "born into health!" Myrtle knows 
she came from the planet, knows she is the highest 
expression of organized planetary forces. She 
knows that purity and naturalness of habit, 
purity and simplicity of food, cleanliness, deep 
breathing and sweet, rich blood beget sweet, rich 
thoughts and a charming presence, or what is the 
same thing, magnetism. 

Thus, wealthy in wisdom, best of all wealth, 



354 . . CURE OF DISEASE. SIMPLIFIED. 

rounded out and endowed with highest natural 
traits, Myrtle reached the age of pure womanhood 
when love seeks a response. She had heard much 
of Switzerland, the land that has been free for six 
centuries ; the land that fought so hard to conquer 
the demon of religious and political oppression, 
and the black arts of dogma, the land of the freest 
people upon earth. Some one of the mothers of 
Switzerland, Myrtle thought, may have given birth 
to a true man — a natural, noble, independent, pure 
man who had been born aright. 

So Myrtle prepared to take a trip abroad. 
Her wardrobe was very simple. She trusted to her 
natural attractions, as well she might, to insure 
recognition wherever she was pleased to go. Her 
person, mind, and manner, unconsciously to her- 
self, expressed poesy. All who sensed its marvelous 
harmony were entranced. AVhile aboard the vessel 
she taught the passengers a lesson. She explained 
to them that they might avoid sea-sickness, by 
living, the first day or two out, on a little dry 
graham toast, or oatmeal eaten dry. If these 
precautions were taken till the system became ac- 
customed to the motion, all would be well. Meet- 
ing a terrific storm, Myrtle, by the magnetism of 
a fearless mind, calmed her frightened companions, 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 355 

showing them the folly of fear, and telling them 
that a cool and calm mind abated storms every- 
where. She showed them that no extraneous 
storm, however violent, could equal internal 
violence. Mental weakness, she said, was the calm 
preceding the only storm that could do one any 
very serious damage — the storm in the unknown 
sea of the human heart. 

The passengers learned numerous valuable 
lessons from Myrtle; one middle-aged lady, as 
if by intuition, said : "That lady was born aright. 
See what a head and eye. Do you notice," the old 
lady continued, "that she never goes to the table 
to eat? She thinks there isn't anything on it fit- 
to make blood for her system and brain. I think 
she must live somewhat as Benjamin Franklin did ; 
on oatmeal, on breathing, and on thought." 

In several instances, Myrtle was approached 
by titled gallants who offered themselves, backed 
by wealth of gold and the little heart they 
possessed, in exchange for her matchless woman- 
hood. Myrtle politely smiled these offers away. 
She was not fascinated, as many are, by the hol- 
low mockery of a title, even if amalgamated 
with gold. She was expecting her counterpart, a 
natural, temperate, healthy, sympathetic, men- 



350 CURE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED, 

tally and morally rounded man, one who was 
born aright, who kept his place in Nature from 
intuition — one Avho knew no mean thought, one 
who could love a woman because she is the highest 
expression of the creative mind, one who can 
leave the animal plane and live in the ethical and 
mental. Such a one Myrtle expected to meet, 
love and wed. 

Arriving at Antwerp, the passengers bade 
Myrtle a hearty, wistful good-bye ; wistful, because 
by this time all recognized her modest, noble spirit, 
and could not prevent the secret wish that they 
might have been as she was. 

Myrtle did not linger at Antwerp, but sought 
the retirement of the mountain villas; the fruit 
and flower gardens, and the cozy foot-hill homes 
had a charm for her. They have for all song birds. 
Driving along the foot-hills of the famous Jung- 
frau, — famous because its wild beauty has been 
sung — Myrtle saw a young man in a plain, 
laborer's suit, in his garden of flowers and fruit. 
Karl Von Sena was this young man's name. I 
call him man. Myrtle had met so many of the 
sterner sex who drank rotted barley water, fire- 
water, and posed at the end of a cigar, that, to her 
keen sense, they "smelled to heaven," and the word 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 357 

abhor was an accompaniment to gentleman, from 
her standard. When Myrtle drove nearer and 
Sena's eye met hers, an indescribable tremor, but 
for a moment, possessed her. Never before had she 
experienced any such sensation. During her life 
she had witnessed many tragical episodes, passing 
through them undaunted, but a glance from that 
eye, and a glimpse of the mind that leapt there- 
from, caused a tremor. She inquired of Karl the 
way to Eutli, the patch of meadow where, six 
centuries ago, the great trinity of Switzerland 
joined hands and took the oath that set an 
enslaved and insulted country forever free. A 
hasty conversation of the tongue passed between 
Karl and Myrtle, and a silent but much more 
eloquent one of the eye. The way to Rutli was 
given and Myrtle drove on, but in the moment of 
parting two pairs of eyes poured out to each other 
a whole universe of sympathetic thought. 

Karl Von Sena was born of honest, healthy, 
liberty-loving parents, who were descendants of 
the old Sena stock. Baron Yon Sena was one of 
the early martyrs. Karl's mother possessed a 
noble mind; she lived close to Nature, being a 
great admirer of the beautiful scenery around her. 
The grand Jungfrau (virgin), the beautiful, rose 



358 C URE OF DISEASE SIMPLIFIED. 

majestically in the background, thus, through the 
mother's mind, stamping Karl with a poetical tem- 
perament, and a love of the beautiful. Karl was 
motive-mental, while Myrtle was mental-sanguine, 
or a brunette and blondine. 

Three months after the first language of the 
eyes, Karl and Myrtle again met at a celebration 
of the anniversary of the freedom of Switzerland, 
at a beautiful village, well named the Cradle of 
Liberty, located in the breast-pocket of Jungfrau. 
Here the great eternal seal of love was placed 
upon two brows and two hearts. Karl had traveled 
in America, and had heard of the LeBrants (Myr- 
tle's parents) and their peculiar doctrines. He 
explained at this meeting how he sensed, with the 
soul's eyes, a sweet, inspiring, ennobling feminine 
influence and presence while in the garden, before 
becoming physically aware of Myrtle's presence. 

Myrtle soon removed all the little foibles found 
in Karl's character (the result of imperfect knowl- 
edge on the part of his parents) and taught him the 
habits of a pure life — one without danger of pain. 
She taught him how to reach a good old age, and 
thus, in this nursery state, upon the earth-plane, 
mature the spirit-bud through the sap-blood. In- 
side the cocoon, she told him, was evolving a 



FUTURE MARRIAGE AND PARENTAGE. 359 

butterfly. She taught him— he had the intellect 
to see and the heart to acknowledge— that the body 
was for the purpose of organizing, from matter, a 
pure, noble, immortal spirit-body, and at passing 
through the great chemical sieve, death, the body 
would be sloughed off and the spirit left free in its 
radiant home. Death, to them, was the crossing on 
rainbow wings to the ineffable Elysias, the hereto- 
fore black deserts of fear that mythology has 
clothed in such hideous garb. 

This case, taken from life, shows that the com- 
ing savior, Future Marriage and Parentage, under 
the guiding star of reason, can save. Let us look 
forward to her with eager expectancy. 

We have given this case as an illustration of 
the future condition of humanity, when Marriage 
and Parentage shall be governed by REASON — 
when the emancipation of the race shall be at- 
tained, not only by a knowledge of the laws that 
govern life, but also by their universal application. 

FINIS. 



Index. 



Aconitum Napellus 

Acid fruit drinks 

Acute diseases 

Age 

Air as food 

Ailanthus 

An open fire 

Ancient notions 

Antiangioiticos 

Apple tea 

Apis Mellifica 

Arnica . 

Arrow-root gruel 

Arsenicum 

Asiatic Cholera 

Australians 

Baby's mouth 

Bathing 

Hot 
Barley gruel 
Belladonna 
Bladder, Inflammation 

" Paralysis 
Brain, Softening 

" Inflammation 

" Food 
Bryonia Alba 
Bright's Disease 
Broiled beef tea . 
" pulp 

" " essence 



t '■ • 



PAGE 
199 

265 

128 

11 

56 

200 

257 

3 

252 

265 

201 

201 

258 

202 

137 

71 

15 

88 

96 

258 

203 

186 

186 

187 

186 

260 

202 

61 

268 

269 

268 



362 



INDEX, 



Cactus Grandiflora 

Calcarea Carbonate 

Calcarea Phosphate 

Callendula 

Cancerosos 

Cantharis . 

Care of the eyes 

Care and cooking for invalids 

Case three 

Case four . 

Catarrh 

Change of life in man 

Change of life 

Cholera 

Chicken broth 

Cina 

Corn tea 

Cold 

Cold air 

Corpulency 

Constipation 

Constipation, infallible remedy 

Colds and Chorea 

Corns » 

Coughs 

Colchicum 

Colic . 

Congestions 

Crust coffee 

Cramps 

Croup, Spasmodic 

Croup, Membranous 

Cure of disease made simple 

Cut flowers in sick-room 

Diabetes 



PAGE 

232 
231 
230 

206 
254 
229 
113 
257 

35 

35 
172 
106 

92 
170 
269 
206 
264 
130 
132 
144 
166 
168 
171 
173 
174 
205 
173 

85 
264 
169 
175 
175 
123 
257 
163 





INDEX. 


363 

PAGE 


Diarrhoea . 


.... 


175 


Diarrhoea 


• • ... 


. 158 


Diet for invalids . 


.... 


258 


Diet for pregnancy 


• 


.271 


Diphtheria 


. 


176 


Diphtheria 


. . . 


. 158 


Diseases of the nose 


.... 


195 


Dropsy . 


.... 


. 177 


Drosera 


.... 


206 


Dreaded diseases 


. . 


. 127 


Dyspepsia . 


. 


178 


Ear-ache 




. 189 


Education of infants 


.... 


39 


Egg gruel 




. 260 


Electro-Homoeopath} 




246 


(( it it 


How to Administer . 


. 216 


it it it 


Dilutions 


247 


it ti if 


External 


. 218 


it it it 


Compresses 


218 


Epilepsy 




. 179 


Erysipelas . 


. 


180 


Extra breathing 




10 


Falling of the womb 


. . 


191 


Farina gruel 




. 260 


Fear in Cholera . 


.... 


309 


Febrifugos 




. 255 


Felon 


. 


181 


Ferrum 




. 228 


Flax-seed lemonade 




266 


Foot-baths 




85 


Foreign bodies in the 


eyes 


181 


Garfield 




87 


General, specific memory 


278 


Goitre . 


. . . 


. 182 


Gout 


. 


182 



364 



INDEX. 



Graphites 

Gravel 

Gruel, egg 

Gum water 

Hay fever 

Health bread 

Headache 

Hepar Sulphur 

Herb teas 

Hemorrhoids or piles 

Healing through Power of Mind 

Hints on Digestion 

Hotel Rosa 

Husbands, a word to them 

Hysteria 

Hypochondria 

Ignatia 

Indigestion 

Indian meal gruel 

Infallible treatment and cure 

Inflammation of the kidneys 

Intermittent fever 

Ipecacuanha 

Irish moss jelly 

Irish moss lemonade . 

Jaundice 

Jelly and Ice . 

Kali Bichromicum 

Lachesis 

La Grippe 

Lean and nervous people 

Lemonade 

Lilium Tig. 

Lycopodium 

Macrotin 



PAGE 

227 
181 
260 
264 
182 
271 
183 
226 
267 
184 
290 

50 
249 

27 
185 
185 
225 
178 
258 
137 
160 
158 
223 
263 
266 
190 
265 
224 
222 
157 
165 
266 
221 
220 

232 



INDEX. 


3t>5 




PAGE 


Man's origin 


310 


Materia Medica 


. 198 


Marriage and Parentage of the Future 


335 


Meats ..... 


. 268 


Medical Electricity 


233 


Memory, its benefit to health 


. 272 


Memory aids cheerfulness 


283 


Meningitis 


. 186 


Menses suppression 


190 


Milk porridge 


. 259 


Milk Crust .... 


193 


Mumps .... 


. 193 


Mush for invalids 


261 


" Indian meal 


. 261 


" Graham .... 


268 


Mutton broth .... 


. 269 


Nausea, or vomiting 


. . 194 


Nervousness . . . 


. 195 


Nettle rash, (Urticaria) . 


194 


Neuralgia .... 


. 194 


Nitric acid .... 


220 


Nourishment .... 


. 156 


Nux vomica .... 


219 


Oatmeal gruel 


. 259 


Palpitation of the heart . 


183 


Panada No. 1 . 


. 260 


Peritonitis . . . . 


186 


u u 


. 152 


Phosphoric acid .... 


216 


Phosphorus .... 


. 218 


Philosophy of disease and its cure 


237 


Phytolacca .... 


. 217 


Poultice ..... 


139 


Podophyllum . 


. 215 


Prevention better than cure 


118 



366 



INDEX. 



Predisposing causes of Cholera 

Prevention of Cholera 

Professor Loisette 

Principles of Electro-Homceopathy 

Progressive physicians 

Pulsatilla . 

Restorative , 

Rice water 

Scarlet fever . 

Scrofoloso No. 1 

Sea sickness 

Sepia 

Silicea . 

Slippery elm tea . 

Small pox 

Spongia 

Staphisagria 

Stewed beef essence 

Stage of incubation 

Sulphur 

Symptoms of Typhoid 

Syphilitic . 

Symptoms of Cataracts 

Syncope 

Tamarind water 

Tapioca jelly 

Tartar emetic 

Teething 

The blood 

Throat, inflammation 

Thought in force 

Thuja 

Toast water 

Treatment of general disease 
Treatment for the eyes . 



PAGE 

143 
143 

278 
215 
157 
211 
263 
262 
158 
250 
197 
212 
213 
265 
158 
211 
210 
268 
143 
209 
143 
255 
114 
184 
266 
263 
233 
43 
133 
189 
316 
208 
264 

160 
115 





INDEX. 


367 

PAGE 


Treatment of fevers 


.... 


146 


True beauty 


- ■ ■ :- ---•---. • . 


. 328 


Typhoid fever 


. . 


. " 146 


Umbilical cord 


• • • 


.14 


Understanding brings contentment 


289 


Uterus . 


• • 


. 190 


Value of repose 


.... 


332 


Veratrum Alba 


• • • 


. 207 


Viride . 


. • . » 


207 


Venereo 


, , , 


. 255 


Vermifugo No. 1 . 


• • » • 


255 


Vegetable Electricity 


• • • 


. 256 


Visiting the sick . 


• • I • 


332 


Young married women 


• • t 


. 34 


Wine whey 


s • • • 


266 



368 

Notice to Patrons. 



My formula of vegetable remedies, used for 
painless childbirth, is composed of herbs gathered 
from both continents. The ingredients are not in 
the least narcotic; they act in perfect harmony 
upon the system, one constituent not destroying 
or neutralizing the properties of the other. The 
nervous and muscular system is brought under 
their complete control, according to the quantity 
of the tea taken; some constitutions relaxing more 
readily than others. The patient suffers no incon- 
venience, no feeling of exhaustion, the strength not 
being taxed in any way whatever. Relaxation is 
not exhaustion. The mother feels stronger, clearer 
in mind, and better in every way than before the 
birth of her child. 

Prescriptions are forwarded to any address on 
receipt of $3.00. 

Book, "Cure of Disease Simplified," $2.25. 

Book and one prescription, $4.25. 

Full instructions accompany each prescription. 

Special rates to physicians. 

Dr. Mary R. Melendy, 

3105 Calumet Avenue, Chicago, 111. 




- - WHAT IS - - 

Klectro-4Tomceopathy ? 

A perfect system of medicine, 
discovered by Count Mattei, of 
Italy. A system so simple, so 
perfect, and so complete, as to 
be a means of self-cnre in the 
hands of every intelligent person. 
In the Physician's hands it is 

T^e UltmjatUn} of Qhve. 

Electro-Homceopathy is a new medical science, founded 
by Count Csesar Mattei, who still lives and watches with 
jealous care the preparation of his wonderfully effective 
remedies. The Count, having resigned his seat in the Italian 
Chamber of Deputies many years ago, lived in quiet retire- 
ment in his romantic old Castle Bochetta, in a hilly and 
picturesque country, not far distant from Bologna, Italy. 
Here he spent his leisure hours in study. The different 
medical schools finally occupying his attention, he became 
aware of the many diseases listed as incurable. Feeling a 
warm interest in mankind, he put forth his best efforts to find 
out some means of reducing the list of incurables. Studying 
carefully the different schools, he was attracted more to 
Homoeopathy — Hahnemann's great work — then in its infancy. 
Much as he admired this great physician and scientist, he 
endeavored to find — by an improved method of preparing them 
— remedies whose curative action should be greater, whose 
reliability should in time become renowned. Having satisfied 
himself as to the theory, he began to practice upon himself 
and upon the tenants of his large estate. After some years' 



practice and practical experimenting, he began to give to the 
world what he had found — Electro-Homoeopathy. 

The theory upon which the Count builds his system is 
this: All disease is caused by the vitiation of the blood or 
lymph, or both blood and lymph. The blood supplies the tis- 
sues of the body with their necessary nourishment, the 
different organs and tissues eliminating in turn through the 
vascular and lymphatic systems. Health is dependent upon 
the normal transformation of matter in the body. 

The lymphatics, like the vascular system — blood vessels — 
form a net- work permeating every part of the body; so small 
are these tiny vessels that the point of the finest needle 
cannot be introduced through the skin without piercing one 
of them. The lymphatic vessels carry a whitish fluid from 
the different organs to the thoracic duct, thence into the vena 
cava, where it mixes and is transformed into blood, by means 
of oxygen, just before entering the heart. 

The manner of preparing these remedies is peculiar. The 
Count, still active at eighty-five years, has taken something of 
the Hahnemann] an school — the small dose and the doctrine of 
similars. From the old school he has taken the compounds, 
always having several medicinal products in each remedy. 
From the spagyrics of the middle ages he derived the peculiar 
method of preparing his remedies. By Electro he does not 
mean electricity, but that because their action at times is so 
quick as to suggest the title. The five fluid remedies he calls 
Electricities — vegetable electricity; these are powerful ex- 
tracts prepared in the manner of the spagyrics. All these 
remedies are extracted from non-poisonous plants having 
electric properties. They produce a gentle, at times an 
instantaneous action, but usually the action is gradual. In 
chronic cases the action is gradual and continuous. Since 
they are so gentle, they can be taken any length of time 
without disturbing the system. 

For a more complete description send to Dr. Chas. 
Pusheck, 330 La Salle Ave., Chicago, 111., the American 
General Depository, for one of the "Guides to Electro-Homoeo- 
pathy." Sent free to any address. 



THE GUIDE OR VADE 

A Pamphlet of 64 Pages, Containing a 

Synopsis of the Principles and 

Practice of 

ELECTRO-HOMEOPATHY. 

This gives a list of the remedies, and also, list of the 
more common diseases and how to treat them with 
these remedies, will be sent postpaid to any address. 
Send in your name for one. The reader is earnestly 
requested to call the attention of friends and 
digciples of Homoeopathy, as well as any person 
afflicted with disease, to this Vade Mecum. 

DR. C. PUSHECK, 

Electro-Homoeopathic Specialist 

for all Chronic and So Called 

Incurable Diseases. 




Consultations by mail a special 
feature. Send for question 
blank for any disease. Prescrip- 
tions made by correspondence. 

-330 Lh^rlle. fjv (rtic«60.lu 

330 LA SALLE AVENUE. 

Hours from 1 to 5 P. M. Tuesdays, 9 A. M. to 9 P. 
M. Not open Sundays. Correspondence solicited. 



